19-year-old Andray Blatche, selected by the Washington Wizards with their second round pick in June’s NBA draft, is listed in serious but stable condition after he was shot in the chest in Alexandria early Sunday morning in an apparent robbery attempt.
According to police reports, Blatche was approached by two men in ski masks as he sat in the passenger seat of a friend’s car at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday. The two men ordered Blatche out of the car and then shot him before he could get out. Blatche’s friend, who was not named in the police report, drove him back to his house in the District and called police from there. Blatche was then airlifted to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Va.
“He’s doing OK,” Angela Oliver, Blatche’s mother, told the Syracuse Post-Standard. “He’s breathing on his own. The bullet didn’t hit any vital organs. He’s been sedated, but he’s been talking to me when he’s come out of it.”
Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld released a statement on the team’s behalf. “We are aware of this situation. First and foremost, our primary concern is with Andray’s well-being. The information that we have received is that Andray was a victim of a carjacking. We have spoken to Andray and the doctors have informed us that he is in good condition and is doing well. This is all the information that we have available at this time as this matter is under investigation.”
The Wizards open training camp on October 4th in Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University.