Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed in the abdomen and his wife slashed after a melee erupted outside a popular New York City club early Wednesday morning.
According to the New York Daily News, Copeland, his wife and several other NBA players were partying at the 1 OAK club in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood when an argument broke out around 4 a.m.
Police arrested 22-year-old Shezoy Bleary in the attack, with sources telling the Daily News that Bleary allegedly "pulled out a knife and stabbed Copeland, 31, and slashed 28-year-old Katrine Saltara, described by investigators as Copeland’s wife, in the arm and leg."
He also allegedly slashed a woman he was with, Catherine Somani, 53. A knife was recovered at the scene. "She was with him, and in the course of what he was doing, [he] slashed her in the abdomen," the source told the Daily News.
Both the Indiana Pacers and the Atlanta Hawks were in New York for separate Wednesday-night games. The Pacers are set to play the New York Knicks, and the Hawks are scheduled to face the Brooklyn Nets. Members of both teams were partying at the nightclub when the attack happened. Pero Antić and Thabo Sefolosha of the Atlanta Hawks were arrested after reportedly refusing to move when police were trying to set up a crime scene, according to the Daily News.
Sefolosha and Antić could not have been in the city more than a few hours, since the Daily News notes that before the incident, "they spent Tuesday night in Atlanta, scoring a combined 32 points to help the Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns."
Copeland and Saltara were rushed to a local hospital and are reported to be in stable condition.
Read more at the New York Daily News.