A basketball player was killed and two others were injured Friday night when shots were fired during a tournament in Harlem, New York City. The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. at the Kingdome Basketball Tournament held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers.
A 35-year-old man, identified by police as a participant in the tournament, was shot twice in the head and later died at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital. According to witnesses, he was shot a second time after already being on the ground. A 28-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the shin, and a 22-year-old woman was shot in the right forearm. Both were transported to Harlem Hospital and reported to be in stable condition.
The deceased player, who police sources said was from Brooklyn, has not yet been publicly identified. There have been no arrests, and the motive for the shooting remains unclear, a police spokesperson confirmed.
Witnesses described the scene as chaotic after the gunfire erupted. "It sounded like a firework," said Jessica Montgommery, a resident of the towers who was attending the event. "And then I heard it again and people started running." Approximately 500 people were in attendance at the tournament, which was reportedly delayed by rain and had just begun its first day of games on Friday.
"This s--t needs to stop," one tournament attendee, who identified himself as "Freak," told the New York Post. "I got kids running around these projects." He added, "This is a day for the community and we’re probably not gonna have this no more. We need more police (on) patrol."
Another witness, who identified himself as "Wavy," stated that the man who died was a player who was warming up for an upcoming game. "All I know is that young black man that came out here to play basketball and he is not going home tonight," Wavy said. Mural art depicting a basketball player passing a trophy to New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson was recently painted on the court surface.