Two photographers are suing a supermodel and a football star, accusing their bodyguards of shooting at them after they had taken pictures at the couple’s ‘after-wedding party’.
Agence France-Press (AFP) photographer Yuri Cortez and freelancer Rolando Aviles have accused Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen of ‘negligence and carelessness’.
They are seeking $1m (£615,000) in damages over the incident, which occurred in Costa Rica in April.
AFP’s global news director Philippe Massonnet said: ‘We first tried to reach a negotiated settlement with the lawyers for Brady and Bundchen, but without result.
‘AFP is not seeking to make money from this case. One of our photographers was almost killed while on assignment. The bullet missed his head by just a few centimetres.’
The photographers had been photographing the couple from an ‘adjoining property’ when they were confronted by bodyguards, according to AFP.
They had refused demands to hand over their cameras and memory cards.
‘After more conversation and an attempt from one of the men to enter the car and remove the cameras, Cortez and Aviles – upon seeing a drawn gun in the hands of one of the bodyguards – attempted to drive away from the scene,’ states the lawsuit filed in the US District Court in New York.
‘At that moment, one of the Brady/Bundchen bodyguards opened fire with pistols and shot at Cortez and Aviles who were in the SUV.’
The couple has yet to issue a response to the lawsuit, according to a report published by AFP last night.
