Knicks euphoria turned ugly in the heart of Times Square early Sunday when a 17-year-old boy was shot in the left foot during wild celebrations, officials and reporting say. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition after thousands of fans had flooded Midtown to celebrate the Knicks clinching the NBA title.
Around 2 a.m., officers and bystanders heard gunfire near 42nd Street and Broadway, and videos circulating online captured the crack of multiple shots as people crouched and sprinted for cover, according to AP News. The wire service reports that what began as a massive street party quickly spiraled, with clashes breaking out between some revelers and police and multiple arrests logged as the night dragged on.
The New York Post reports the wounded teen was hit at the intersection of 42nd Street and Broadway and taken to Bellevue in stable condition, and that the NYPD detained three persons of interest and recovered a firearm. Video and eyewitness accounts cited by the paper showed frenzied scenes after the final buzzer, with crowds surging, shouting and scrambling as officers tried to regain control.
Scenes of destruction
Videos and photographs from the scene showed fans smashing car windshields, scaling scaffolding and clambering onto the roofs of school buses in Times Square; one bus was later seen engulfed in flames, according to AP News. The Washington Post noted that officers tried to push crowds back from the most congested areas and that several police vehicles were damaged once the celebrations tipped into outright destruction.
Police response
As the plaza filled to the breaking point, officers moved in, making targeted arrests and detaining multiple suspects while trying to thin out the crush of people. The New York Post reports that at least one livestreamer was cuffed after climbing on top of an Amazon delivery van. Sources told the paper that at least one person under arrest punched an officer during the unrest and that police were still adding up potential charges and the full tally of property damage.
Context and what's next
Authorities were already on edge after earlier post-game violence this week left a 17-year-old in a coma outside Madison Square Garden, as reported in an argument that left a teen in a coma. Local and national outlets say investigators are now poring over surveillance and cellphone footage from Times Square in an effort to determine who fired the shots and what set off the gunplay, according to reporting in The Washington Post.
