Long Island Nets star shot outside Philadelphia bar
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A local basketball player was struck by a stray bullet outside a Philadelphia bar on Sunday, his family says.
Authorities were called to 5th Street Lounge around 12:45 a.m. and found 23-year-old Long Island Nets star Terry Roberts shot in the upper chest.
Roberts drove to Philadelphia over the weekend as a favor to a friend. They stopped at the bar, and that's when a gunfight broke out on the street and Roberts was struck.
It was close at first, but doctors now say Roberts will survive. He was taken off a ventilator and was able to talk with his parents on Monday.
"He's healing," said Roberts' mother. "He's doing well. He is in a state of shock. This is a traumatic situation that's happened."
Four suspects got away in a grey Nissan Altima, while an off-duty security guard fired at the get away car, according to authorities.
"It's been tough," said Terrace Roberts, Terry's father. "An avalanche of emotions, internal pain and handling the situation at hand."
The shooting and off-duty guard are both being investigated.
"Terry Roberts was the victim of a crime on Sunday morning in Philadelphia, and we are in the process of gathering more information about the incident," the Long Island Nets said in a statement. "He is currently in stable condition, and he is expected to make a full recovery. Our thoughts are with him and family at this time. Due to the ongoing law enforcement investigation, we will have no further comment."
Roberts, a North Amityville native, is currently a guard with the Nets, an NBA G-League team.
Eyewitness News first met Roberts in 2015, when he played for an East New York AAU team and was ranked number one in the nation.
Eight years later in 2023, we talked to him again when he was working out for NBA teams before last year's draft.
Roberts says he's eager to get back to his team, but it's not clear yet how long that will take.
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