Eric Bieniemy’s son, Elijah, will now undergo a competency evaluation after the July 26 shooting that left the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator’s wife, Mia, wounded in their home.
At a short hearing Thursday, July 30, 2026, Elijah was granted that evaluation. His public defender said in court filings, via The Athletic, that Elijah Bieniemy “appears to suffer from significant mental health issues” and “does not appear able to assist in his own defense at the present time.”
The defense had originally filed two requests: one for a competency evaluation and another for a mental health evaluation. The second motion was briefly pulled back after his attorney said he had previously been diagnosed with a “serious illness.” She also said his mental state at the time of the shooting “will play a crucial role in his defense and that he is ‘indigent' and lacks the financial means to pay for a sanity evaluation on his own.”
The case has also brought renewed attention to Elijah Bieniemy’s past encounters with police tied to mental health concerns. According to The Athletic, a welfare check was conducted at the Bieniemys’ home in Kansas in February 2017 after Eric Bieniemy called police because he was worried about his son. Elijah also had a separate run-in with law enforcement in October 2022, when he pleaded guilty to driving 103 mph in a 75-mph zone and paid a $177 fine.
Mia Bieniemy was shot twice in the family’s home in Ashburn, Virginia. Elijah Bieniemy was arrested and charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, and discharge of a firearm inside a dwelling.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday, July 29, that Mia had been transferred from the ICU. Eric Bieniemy left Missouri to be with his wife during her recovery, and it remains unclear when he will return to the team.
Elijah Bieniemy’s preliminary hearing has been pushed from Aug. 31 to Sep. 9, just five days before the Chiefs open Week 1 against the Denver Broncos.
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