Rachel Axon

USA TODAY Sports

Editor's note: An earlier version of the story indicated Winston and Casher were stopped on campus. FSU police said they were detained across the street from campus.

About five hours before Jameis Winston was involved in a BB gun "battle" that damaged the apartment complex where he lived in 2012, the Florida State quarterback was stopped by campus police at gunpoint and handcuffed for carrying a pellet gun near campus that he said he was using to shoot at squirrels.

Winston and teammate Chris Casher were briefly detained by FSU police on Nov. 25, 2012, after an unidentified person reported two men carrying a "long barreled handgun" on campus, according to a police report obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Later that week, Winston and Casher were investigated for $4,200 in damage at their apartment complex caused by a BB gun fight just hours after they were stopped on campus.

Shortly after 5 p.m. that day, FSU police were dispatched to a bike trail on campus where they found Winston, then a redshirt freshmen, and Casher.

"I believe the suspects may have had a firearm so for my safety and the safety of the other individuals in the area, I drew my firearm from its holster and pointed it at the suspects with my finger outside the trigger guard," wrote Officer Anthony Gioannetti in the police report.

The officer "stated several times in a loud voice" for the men to get on the ground. They dropped a pistol, which the officer did not initially see, before lying on the ground. Officer Garrett Williams handcuffed Winston and Casher, and Gioannetti then holstered his firearm.

Winston and Casher told police they were shooting at squirrels on the trail and that they had told other people on the trail the pistol was a pellet gun, according to the report.

Corporal John Wainwright arrived and took possession of the gun and pellets. He returned them to the players, who were released and not charged.

Deputy chief James Russell said FSUPD regularly patrols the bike trail and responded to the call because it was just off campus.

Winston told the Associated Press on Wednesday, "I'm not talking about that." And Casher, when reached by AP, used profanity and questioned why the incident would be reported nearly two years later.

Winston told police in 2012 he did not have a BB gun during the incident later that day at the apartment complex, and Casher said he had one but didn't fire any shots because he didn't have a carbon dioxide cartridge. Both admitted to taking part in these "battles," which included several players on the football team, in the preceding month.

That incident came to light in November 2013 as Winston, the eventual Heisman Trophy winner, was being investigated by the state attorney's office related to the alleged rape of a female FSU student on Dec. 7, 2012.

After initially telling Tallahassee police that he wanted to evict Winston, Casher and two other players involved for breaking 13 windows, apartment manager Dave Sudekum said he did not want to pursue charges.

Monk Bonasorte, senior associate athletics director, arranged for players to split the cost of the damages.

While the December 2012 rape allegation for which he was not charged remains the most serious investigation Winston has faced, it's not his only contact with local law enforcement.

Police were called to a Tallahassee Burger King in July 2012 after an employee complained Winston was stealing soda. In April, he was cited for shoplifting crab legs at Publix. He was suspended from the baseball team until he completed community service.

Speaking at ACC media days earlier this month, Winston said, "I know I'm in the spotlight and I know I've got these guys depending on me, coach (Jimbo) Fisher depending on me and the most important thing I have my family depending on me.

"That comes from me maturing, seeing the real world, seeing how people have different perspectives about me as a person. I know I have to be able to live up to that hype everywhere I go. I have a certain standard I have to hold myself up to, and if I even go an inch below that standard it's going to be chaos."