NBA player Pero Antic, 33, of the Atlanta Hawks is seen escorted out of 10th Precinct of the New York Police Department (NYPD) in Manhattan on Tuesday.
Reuters/New York
NBA player Chris Copeland of the Indiana Pacers and his wife were stabbed during a dispute outside a New York City nightclub early on Wednesday and hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police and media reports.
The Indiana Pacers forward, 31, was stabbed once in the abdomen, and his wife Katrine Saltara, 28, was slashed in the arm and chest.
Another unidentified woman, 23, was slashed in the abdomen, according to the New York Police Department.
A 22-year-old suspect, identified in media reports as Shezoy Bleary, was in custody. Charges were pending, police said.
Police confirmed details of the incident outside the 1 Oak nightclub in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighbourhood but would not confirm the identities of the victims or the suspect.
The fight was called into police at about 4am, police said.
“They were engaged in a verbal dispute in front of the location,” Officer Sophia Mason, a NYPD spokeswoman, said.
“The males engaged in a confrontation, and that’s when the 22-year-old male stabbed the 31-year-old male,” Mason said.
A folding knife was recovered from the suspect, she said. The 23-year-old woman was believed to be the suspect’s girlfriend, police said.
Two Atlanta Hawks players were taken into custody for interfering with the arrest and trying to prevent police from setting up a crime scene.
Police identified them as Pero Antic, 33, and Thabo Sefolosha, 30, both of Atlanta.
“We are aware that Chris Copeland was injured early this morning in New York City,” said Larry Bird, Pacers president, on Twitter. “Our thoughts are with Chris and those injured.”
