Vikings RB Adrian Peterson facing arrest in child injury indictment

According to multiple news reports, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has been indicted for child abuse in Texas and a warrant for his arrest has been issued..

According to FOX Houston, the All Pro running back was indicted in Montgomery County, TX. He was absent from practice at the Minnesota Vikings practice facility on Thursday, but was there on Friday.

Mark Berman of FOX Houston says that the indictment stems from an incident involving a 'switch' to spank his son. The case involves an 11-year-old boy. CBS Minnesota includes photos of the boy's alleged injuries from the Houston police department. 

Peterson has been indicted with four counts of 'reckless or negligent injury to a child.' The NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said Peterson testified before a grand jury on the incident "weeks ago."

In a statement to NFL Network reporter Albert Breer, the Montgomery, TX Sheriff's Office issued a statement, saying: "An unknown police department called the City of Houston police department with a complaint of child endangerment, and Houston referred it to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office where the alleged case occurred. Montgomery County investigated a complaint of 'injury to a child' and referred the case to the district attoey. The DA then handed the case to the Grand Jury."

The 2012 NFL MVP, a Texas native, is in his eighth year in the NFL after having a prolific career at the University of Oklahoma.

The Vikings are deciding whether or not Peterson will play on Sunday vs. the New England Patriots, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports.

The charges against Peterson were announced by his attoey, Rusty Hardin, but declined further comment on the matter. Hardin also represented Clemens in his successful acquittal in his congressional obstruction of justice case in 2012. 

In an emailed statement from Hardin on the indictment, he says:

Adrian Peterson has been informed that he was indicted by a grand jury in Montgomery County, Texas for Injury to a Child. The charged conduct involves using a switch to spank his son. This indictment follows Adrian's full cooperation with authorities who have been looking into this matter. Adrian is a loving father who used his judgment as a parent to discipline his son. He used the same kind of discipline with his child that he experienced as a child growing up in east Texas. Adrian has never hidden from what happened. He has cooperated fully with authorities and voluntarily testified before the grand jury for several hours. Adrian will address the charges with the same respect and responsiveness he has brought to this inquiry from its beginning. It is important to remember that Adrian never intended to harm his son and deeply regrets the unintentional injury.

Peterson's team, the Minnesota Vikings, also issued a statement saying they're "in the process of gathering information regarding the legal situation involving Adrian Peterson. At this time, we will defer further questions to Adrian's attoey Rusty Hardin."

In October 2013, Joseph Patterson, 28, was accused of killing Peterson's 2-year-old son, Tyrese Robert Ruffin, and charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, child abuse and aggravated battery.