Man accused of stabbing NBA star Chris Copeland and his wife is hauled to court

By: Josh Gardner and Lydia Warren For Dailymail.com

The 22-year-old man accused of stabbing Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was seen leaving New York City’s 10th police precinct on his way to court just as Copeland was undergoing surgery for his injuries on Wednesday.

Shezoy Bleary allegedly attacked 31-year-old Copeland and two women with a switchblade in the early morning hours outside a Chelsea nightclub after an argument escalated into violence around 4am.

Copeland, a former player for the New York Knicks, was slashed in the elbow and abdomen and underwent surgery to repair the wounds on Wednesday.

Copeland’s wife Katrine Saltara, 28, was also stabbed during the early-morning altercation after they left popular New York club 1 OAK.

Copeland and Saltara were arguing on the street as the attacker eavesdropped and then started to interfere.

When Copeland told the man to back off, the suspect allegedly pulled out a switchblade and plunged it into the athlete’s abdomen and elbow.

‘They were engaged in a verbal dispute in front of the location,’ said Officer Sophia Mason, an NYPD spokeswoman.

‘The males engaged in a confrontation, and that’s when the 22-year-old male stabbed the 31-year-old male,’ Mason said.

He then turned on Saltara, stabbing her in the breast, buttocks and arm, sources told the New York Post.

Another woman, Catherine Somani, 23, was also stabbed in the abdomen as she apparently tried to break up the fight, WABC reported. She was believed to be the suspect’s girlfriend.

A video shared with TMZ shows the victims on the sidewalk as they are attended to by emergency responders.

‘We were both stabbed,’ Saltara can be heard saying. ‘We were attacked out of nowhere by a f***ing black civilian. We have nothing to say. We are scared for our lives!’

Murdock, from Brooklyn, was arrested at the scene along with two fellow NBA players, Pero Antić and Thabo Sefolosha of the Atlanta Hawks.

The players allegedly obstructed the crime scene as police arrived by refusing to get out of the way, according to sources.

Authorities recovered a knife from the scene, sources told the New York Daily News.

Copeland and his wife were both listed in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital, while Somani was rushed to Lenox Hill Hospital. Their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

CBS reported that Copeland underwent surgery on Wednesday morning.

‘We are aware that Chris Copeland was injured early this morning in New York City,’ Indiana Pacers President Larry Bird said in a statement to DailyMail.com on Wednesday.

‘We are still gathering information and will update when we know more. Our thoughts are with Chris and those injured.’

The team confirmed that he had suffered a knife wound to his left elbow and abdomen.

The fight broke out down the street from 1OAK, a popular Chelsea club where celebrities including Leonardo DiCaprio, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Lindsay Lohan have been spotted partying.

The couple is believed to have only been inside the club briefly.

The Hawks and Pacers are both in New York for basketball games.

Copeland, who is from New Jersey, was supposed to play his former team, the New York Knicks, at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

He previously played 56 games for the team in his 2012-2013 rookie season.

Both Pacers and Knicks fans flocked to social media to wish him a speedy recovery on Wednesday.

‘Hope that you and your wife have a speedy recovery,’ one fan wrote. ‘Once a knick always a knick.’

The Hawks will take on the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center, but it is not yet clear if the two arrested players will be available to play.

‘We are aware of the situation involving Pero Antic and Thabo Sefolosha this morning,’ Hawks spokesperson Garin Narain told DailyMail.com on Wednesday. ‘We are in the process of gathering more information and will have further comment at the appropriate time.’