Basketball games planned for Thursday night as part of an annual tournament in Harlem's famed Rucker Park were canceled, the day after five people were shot during Wednesday's games.
Gregory Marius, CEO and founder of the Entertainer Basketball Classic, said the next games would take place Monday night. He told NBC 4 New York that he agreed with the Parks Department and the NYPD to cancel the games to allow tempers to cool in the neighborhood.
The five men were shot around 10:15 p.m. at the park at 155th Street and Eighth Avenue. Their conditions were not immediately known.
"It was crazy. Shooting for no reason," said Awad Mohammed, a deli worker.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Thursday that the shooter appears to have been wearing a green shirt. The motive is unclear, Kelly said.
The tournament -- intended to get people off the streets and away from violence -- has been held for 31 years, Marius said, and has been violence-free for the past 20. It attracts celebrities, pro-basketball players and turns out future stars, he said.
The shooting comes days after a 4-year-old boy was fatally shot at a Bronx playground after gunfire broke out at a basketball game.
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