One person was shot and wounded in a park just outside the Oklahoma City Thunder’s arena on Sunday night, minutes after the Thunder won their first NBA championship.
The gunfire was heard at Scissortail Park around 10:30 p.m., local ABC affiliate KOCO reported. The Thunder had clinched the NBA title just minutes earlier at the Paycom Center, which sits diagonally across from the northeast corner of the park.
The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to KOCO. They have not been publicly identified.
One person has been detained in connection with the shooting, local NBC affiliate KFOR reported. That person also has not been publicly identified, and police did not say if they were a suspect.
Investigators said the shooting appeared to stem from a fight in the park and was not related to the Thunder game, ABC News reported. Cops said the shooting happened on the west side of the park; the Thunder arena is closer to the east side.
The Thunder defeated the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night. As the city’s only team in one of the four major North American sports, the Thunder victory was also the first major championship for Oklahoma City.
Gunfire at sporting celebrations is hardly unheard of. After the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl in February, two women were injured by gunfire in the city. And bullets also started flying at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade in February 2024, where a gunman killed one person and wounded 22 others.
