Exclusive: The home of former San Jose State assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batismooth was shot dead in Scotts Valley, California on Monday night in Batismooth, local police told Fox News Digital.
Scotts Valley Police Station Captain Scott Garner told Fox News Digital that the officer determined that the weapon used was a pellet gun and was being investigated as vandalism. The pellet was recovered by police. No one is hurt, and no suspects or motives have been determined. The investigation is underway.
“We're following up with some of our neighbors just to see what we can find,” Garner said. “At this point, there's no surveillance. There's no lead. There's nothing. We're just doing due diligence to interview our neighbors.”
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Batie-Smoose's contract with the state of San Jose expired on January 31, when it was suspended from the program in November. Batie-Smoose previously filed a Title IX complaint to the program regarding the situation involving transgender volleyball player Blaire Fleming. Batie-Smoose is also involved in lawsuits against SJSU and the Mountain West Conference regarding the circumstances in which Fleming is involved.
The Monday night incident and Batie-Smoose Title IX complaints, deviations from the program and ongoing lawsuits have not been decided by police.
But Batie-Smoose thinks she is “targeting” it.
“I,” Batty Smooth told Fox News Digital when asked if he believed the incident was related to the situation involving SJSU and Fleming. “It's no coincidence that I've never had this happen. In our neighborhood, I spoke to a neighbor who has lived there for over 10 years.
The window hole at former San Jose State University was a pellet gun that police decided after the incident in which volleyball coach Melissa Batis Smooth was shot in her home. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Batie-Smoose)
Batie Smoose said the incident was Independent Council on Women's Sports (icon).
She was talking to the lead lawyer Bill Bock who was involved in the lawsuit and the Mountain West Conference volleyball player. She heard a glass break at her home as they were discussing the legal battle over gender eligibility and the NCAA new policy.
“I hear this loud noise, but it sounds like I'm breaking a glass. First, I say, 'What happened? Where did that sound come from?' And when I register, I look at the window and see a hole in the bullet. Masu. ”
Batie-Smoose said she raw the floor behind the couch and called her husband and told her to call the police. Pellet was shot in a window facing her backyard.
“The police said the shot had to come from the street behind me,” Batty Smooth said.
When Batie-Smoose was informed that police had determined the case was vandalism due to the fact that the weapon used was used, she called the decision “crazy.”
“So, it might be because it's just considered vandalism, even though it can hurt you, because it might not be a potential gun?” Batie-Smoose said. “That's a bit weird for me. So if that object of power comes to your head, you'll be hurt. It's crazy for me.
“I don't know how this will be downgraded to vandalism.”
Batie-Smoose said she had previously received hostile emails about her attitude about Fleming. She also claimed she had face-to-face altercations with individuals from Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley who opposed her stance.
SJSU Transgender Volleyball Scandal: Allegations Timeline, Political Impact, Furious Cultural Movement
“People recognize me in the community and I'm in an area where I talk and talk to them to fight for women's sports. I'm in some crazy areas, I said.
Batie-Smoose added that all coaches and players involved in the San Jose State volleyball program know her address. Batie-Smoose joined the program in 2023 but does not rule out finding her address by any other means, including individuals outside the program.
“I feel that people of this day and age can find your address fairly easily,” Bati Smooth said. “Did I put it out there? No. But if you looked at it hard enough to find my address, I'm sure.”
Batie-Smoose has since left her home and has been staying elsewhere while the investigation continues.
Batie-Smoose has appeared multiple times in the Fox News program, advocating for the protection of women's sports amid an ongoing scandal with San Jose State.
Batie-Smoose was suspended from the program on November 2nd after filing a Title IX complaint. The complaints included allegations that Fleming conspired with his opponent during the October match when former SJSU co-captain Brooks Russer conspired with him to hit the face.
Fox News Digital previously reported, Fox News Digital has been assigned regular police protection to the team and continues throughout the season amid security concerns, and Slusser has been informed of a physical threat to her safety Includes incidents.
The complaints of both Slusser's lawsuit and Batie-Smoose's Title IX allege that Fleming conspired with Colorado volleyball player Malaya Jones ahead of the match between the two programs on October 3. Advantage is said to have established plans to set up Jones in clear lanes to spike the thrussers during the contest.
The letter states that the conference's investigation includes interviews with coaches and student-athletes in both San Jose and Colorado. However, the letter did not clearly state which individuals were interviewed. The meeting refused to provide details about the individuals interviewed when asked by Fox News Digital.
Slusser's lawyer Bill Bock later provided a statement to Fox News Digital claiming that the investigation was “infected with bias.”
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“The MWC investigation is insufficient and not thorough, and the MWC's closeout letter is plagued by errors, so signers have issued this rebuttal, demanding that MWC release it immediately. “The investigators and (2) all documents related to the MWC's “intensive investigation,” and MWC's decision not to proceed further was based on,” read Bock's statement.
San Jose is also under investigation by President Donald Trump's Department of Education to determine whether a Title IX violation occurred during Fleming's tenure on volleyball team.
The president of San Jose State University's Cynthia Teniente-Matson told Fox News Digital that the university is ready to cooperate with the investigation.
Fox News Digital contacted San Jose State to inquire about a statement regarding the incident involving the Batie-Smoose home.
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