Gunfire erupted at a Harlem basketball tournament Friday night, killing one player and injuring two other people, according to police and witnesses.
The shooting happened at about 10:30 p.m. during the Kingdome Basketball Tournament at the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers on Lenox Avenue, between 112th and 115th streets, police said.
A 35-year-old tournament player was struck twice in the head — including once after he had already fallen to the ground bleeding — and was rushed to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities and witnesses said.
A 28-year-old man was shot in the shin, and a 22-year-old woman was hit in the right forearm. Both were taken to Harlem Hospital and listed in stable condition.
The slain player’s name was not immediately released, though police sources said he was from Brooklyn.
No arrests had been made, and investigators had not yet determined a motive, a police spokesman said.
A man who gave his name as “Freak” said Friday marked the opening day of the popular tournament, which had been scheduled to start Thursday before rain forced a delay.
“This s–t needs to stop,” Freak told the Post. “I got kids running around these projects.”
He said there were about 500 people packed into seats watching the games.
“This is a day for the community and we’re probably not gonna have this no more,” he said. “We need more police (on) patrol.”
Jessica Montgommery, who has been living in the towers for a decade, was at the tournament when sheheard the gunshots.
“It sounded like a firework,” the 45-year-old said. “And then I heard it again and people started running.”
A man, who identified himself as “Wavy,” saw paramedics working on the dead participant.
“He was one of the players,” he said. “He was just warming up for the next game.”
A mural painted at the court’s surface a day earlier shows Will Frazier passing the championship trophy to New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson.
“All I know is that young black man that came out here to play basketball and he is not going home tonight,” Wavy added.
