For the second time in two weeks, a member of the New York Knicks has been robbed. Recently, Knicks forward Derrick Williams was apparently robbed of $750,000 worth of jewelry by a female duo. A recent robbery just took place last night and the scene was a little scarier.
Cleanthony Early, a 24 year-old forward drafted in 2014 out of Wichita State, has been shot as another target in a senseless robbery.
Following from Thomas Tracy, Rocco Parascandola, Dan Good of the New York Daily News.
New York Knicks forward Cleanthony Early was shot in the right knee in an early-morning attack after leaving a Queens strip club, police sources told the Daily News.
Early, 24, was surrounded by four to six people wearing ski masks and robbed of his items and jewelry — including a gold necklace and gold caps on his teeth, sources said.
The shooting happened at 4:15 a.m., after Early left CityScapes gentlemen’s club on 58th Street in Maspeth Queens. He was with an unidentified female when he left the club, sources said.
Early was in an Uber cab, about a mile away from the club, when three cars boxed in the vehicle, sources said.
He was shot once in the right knee, police sources said. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition, and was later being transported to another hospital. His injury does not appear to be life-threatening.
Employees with the gentlemen’s club declined to comment when contacted by the Daily News.
The New York Knicks released a statement acknowledging the situation involving their young forward.
“We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation,” the team said. “We ill not comment any further until we receive more information.”
As stated in the report, Early’s injuries are not life-threatening but he did sustain a possible career-threatening shot to the leg.
This season, Early has played in 10 games for the Knicks, including a short stint in the Knicks win last night at Madison Square Garden against the Detroit Pistons. He played about 30 seconds last night and on the season, he’s averaging less than four minutes and 1 point per game after being recalled from the D-League Westchester Knicks. He has battled injuries during his career and missed two months of the 2014-15 season after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the same one injured in Wednesday’s shooting.
