Five people were shot last night at a basketball game at Harlem’s famed Rucker Park where ex-Knicks guard Nate Robinson was among those scrambling for safety during the chaos, authorities and witnesses said.
The mayhem broke loose just before 11 p.m. at the courts on West 155th Street and Eighth Avenue during the annual Entertainers Basketball Classic, which has featured numerous NBA superstars.
“A dispute broke out, a fight, someone was punched as a result of the heckling,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. Kelly said the suspect was in the stands and wearing a lime green shirt took out a gun. According to Kelly, the shooter opened fire on the court, hitting one player and four people nearby. Kelly said the brazen gunman then “chased another individual across the street and shot that individual.”
Law enforcement sources identified the victims as Michael White, Dayan Benett, Tristin Anderson, Vaughn Allen and Messiah Ortiz. None of the men suffered life-threatening injuries.
Kelly said the gun used was a small caliber, likely a .22 based on three shell casings found at the scene.
“All of a sudden the game stopped because an argument broke out in the stands,” said witness Rodney Harris Jr., 47, who was five feet from the melee.“The next thing you know one guy reaches into his pants pocket and pulled out a gun. He fired one shot into the crowd and then another.”
His friend’s son was playing in the game and was shot in the ankle.
“He was just an innocent bystander. It scared the living daylights out of me,” Harris said.
He said the shooter ran outside of the park onto the corner before shooting a couple more rounds.
Cops said it was not totally clear what sparked the violence but it may have been as simple as someone forgetting to say “excuse me.”
“One guy bumped into another guy from another group,” the source said.
Video of the tense scene was later posted on the website worldstarhiphop.com.
“Oh! Oh!” a woman yells as shots are fired.
Robinson was at the game but didn’t play. Witnesses said he was escorted out.
A spokesman for the tournament did not return requests for comment.