Chris Copeland, a former New York Knicks player who now runs with the Indiana Pacers, was stabbed early Wednesday outside a Chelsea club. His wife was also slashed.
An argument broke out when the victims and their attacker, Shezoy Bleary, 22, were leaving the 1 OAK Club. Bleary pulled out a knife and stabbed Copeland in the abdomen and slashed Katrine Saltara, Copeland’s wife, in the arm and leg.
A nearby woman, Catherine Somani, 53, was also slashed, though investigators believe that was an accident. Noting that Somani was apparently a friend of Bleary’s, a source said, “She was with him, and in the course of what he was doing, (he) slashed her in the abdomen.”
Two Atlanta Hawks were also arrested in connection with the incident and charged with obstructing governmental administration. Pero Antić and Thabo Sefolosha refused to move so that police could set up a crime scene.
Copeland was in New York for Wednesday night’s game in which the Pacers will play the Knicks. The Hawks had recently arrived in New York as well for a game against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.
Both Copeland and Saltara were rushed to Bellevue Hospital and are reportedly in stable condition. Somani was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital.