Chris Copeland Stabbed: Indiana Pacers Forward, Wife Katrine Saltara Slashed At NYC Club; 2 Atlanta Hawks Players Arrested In Incident

By Howard Koplowitz @howardkoplowitz h.koplowitz@ibtimes.com

Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland (r.) was stabbed in the stomach during an argument at a New York City club. His wife was also slashed. Reuters

Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was stabbed in the stomach and his wife was slashed in the arm and leg early Wednesday morning during an argument as a New York City club was closing, the New York Daily News reported. Meanwhile, two members of the Atlanta Hawks were arrested for allegedly preventing cops from setting up a crime scene at popular hotspot 1 OAK.
Copeland, 31, and his 28-year-old wife, Katrine Saltara, were in a dispute around 4 a.m. when the 22-year-old suspect interrupted them, the New York Post reported. The suspect, identified by the Daily News as Shezoy Bleary, then allegedly brandished a knife and stabbed Copeland in the abdomen, sources told the Post. Bleary then turned the knife on Saltara, slashing her in the breast, buttocks and arm.
A second woman, 53-year-old Catherine Somani, was
stabbed in the abdomen, according to the Daily News. Police told the paper that she was a friend of Bleary’s and that she may have been stabbed by mistake. "She was with him, and in the course of what he was doing, (he) slashed her in the abdomen,” an unnamed police source said. Bleary was arrested, but the charges against him were pending, the paper reported.
Copeland and Saltara were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they were in stable condition early Wednesday morning, the Daily News reported. Somani was taken to another hospital. Her condition was unknown.
Two members of the Atlanta Hawks, 32-year-old Pero Antić and 30-year-old Thabo Sefolosha, were arrested on obstructing governmental administration after they refused to move as police were trying to put up a crime scene at the New York City club.
The Pacers and the Hawks were in New York City because Indiana is scheduled to play the New York Knicks on Wednesday while Atlanta has a Wednesday matchup with the Brooklyn Nets.