November 28, 2015
Philadelphia 76ers center Jahlil Okafor, whose fight in Boston drew headlines this week after TMZ released video of the incident, was reportedly involved in a separate altercation in Old City this October during which an unidentified individual pointed a gun at the 19-year-old NBA rookie.
A witness reported to CSNPhilly that Okafor and an associate got into a verbal argument outside an Old City nightclub at around 2 a.m. on the morning of October 4. According to the witness, Okafor exchanged words with two men inside a vehicle parked at the corner of 2nd and Walnut streets.
The disagreement reportedly escalated until Okafor attempted to punch the driver through an open window, the witness said. At one point, the driver and passenger of the vehicle stepped outside and the latter pointed a gun at Okafor and his friend.
According to police reports obtained by CSNPhilly from the U.S. Park Rangers and the Philadelphia Police Department, U.S. Park Rangers who were patrolling Independence Hall that morning arrived at the scene of the altercation and chased the passenger of the vehicle, who fled on foot after tossing his gun, multiple witnesses said. The driver of the vehicle, described as a black Camero with red stripes, re-entered the car and sped off without ever being stopped, according to the report.
One U.S. Park Ranger said the passenger entered a garage at the Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel. Police and K-9 units “swept the parking garage and first floor of the hotel with negative results," the police report said, while hotel surveillance footage showed the man never entered the building.
A law enforcement source told CSNPhilly that a gun magazine was found near the scene of the altercation and submitted for analysis. The investigation remains ongoing.
After the Sixers' Friday night loss to the Rockets dropped them to 0-17 for the season, Okafor said, "I'm not allowed to talk about that incident. There is a process going on and I'm not allowed to talk about it. I'm sorry."
The Sixers released a brief statement acknowledging the report. "We are aware that there is an ongoing investigation regarding the alleged incident and are unable to comment further."
Boston police, meanwhile, continue to actively investigate the nightclub incident that occurred early Thursday morning after the Sixers lost to the Celtics. Okafor claims the fight arose from heckling about the Sixers. No charges have been filed in the incident.
"It was definitely dumb on my part," an embarrassed Okafor said Friday. “It doesn’t happen often. People were coming at me and making fun of us for losing. I know I’m in the spotlight and I know there are people going to try to anger you. I did the dumb thing and reacted to it. I’ll never handle it like that again.”
