Chris Copeland, a former member of the New York Knicks now playing for the Indiana Pacers, was stabbed in the abdomen during an argument at 1 OAK club in Chelsea early Wednesday, cop sources said.
Copeland’s attacker was arrested, and two members of the Atlanta Hawks, Pero Antić and Thabo Sefolosha, were also booked, for trying to prevent police from setting up a crime scene, the sources said.
A woman who was with Copeland and later described by police sources as his wife, Katrine Saltara, was slashed amid the fracas, which happened shortly before 4 a.m., as the popular club on West 17th St. was preparing to close. An argument erupted as Copeland and the suspect were leaving, the sources said.
The man who was arrested, Shezoy Bleary, 22, pulled out a knife and stabbed Copeland, 31, and slashed Saltara, 28, in the arm and leg, the sources said. A second woman, Catherine Somani, 53, who was with Bleary, was slashed in the abdomen, the sources said. One source said investigators believe she was slashed by accident.
“She was with him, and in the course of what he was doing, (he) slashed her in the abdomen,” the source said.
Copeland came to New York because the Pacers are playing the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. The Hawks, meanwhile, will tip off against the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Wednesday.
Copeland and Saltara were rushed to Bellevue Hospital and were in stable condition, the sources said. Somani was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital; she, too, was listed as stable.
When police arrived at the scene, they busted Bleary and recovered a knife, sources said. Charges against him were pending
Sefolosha, 30, and Antić, 32, refused to move when police tried to set up a crime scene, the sources said. They were charged with obstructing governmental administration. They had been in the city no more than a few hours before becoming involved in the incident, as they spent Tuesday night in Atlanta, scoring a combined 32 points to help the Hawks beat the Phoenix Suns.
Copeland, a 6-foot-8 forward from Orange, N.J., played 56 games with the Knicks during 2012-2013 season, his rookie year.
In July 2013 he signed with the Pacers as a restricted free agent, inking a two-year, $6.1 million contract.
NBA legend Larry Bird, now the Pacers’ president of basketball operations, released the following statement on the team’s website: “We are aware that Chris Copeland was injured early this morning in New York City. We are still gathering information and will update when we know more. Our thoughts are with Chris and those injured.”
