Riots in New York after Knicks NBA title – 63 arrests and a 17-year-old shot

Violence around Times Square

According to the New York City Police Department, hooligans used baseball bats to smash police vehicles and fired fireworks into the crowds. Media reports indicated that ten police officers were injured. In addition, there were several brawls and multiple stabbings.

During the course of the unrest, a 17-year-old was shot, according to police. The exact circumstances of the shooting were not initially known. In total, police arrested 63 people in the night leading into Sunday.

Police arrest 63 people

Mayor Zohran Mamdani strongly condemned the riots. "The overwhelming majority of New Yorkers celebrated appropriately. A small few did not. We have repeatedly stressed that, no matter how excited we are, we will not tolerate violence against police officers or anyone else," Mamdani said.

The damage around Madison Square Garden and Times Square was considerable. In addition to the burned and damaged buses, multiple police vehicles were affected. Residents and tourists fled the affected neighborhoods.

Championship parade planned for Thursday

The Knicks' sporting achievement carries significant weight in sports history: the franchise's last championship dates back 53 years – one of the longest droughts in U.S. professional sports. The title win had triggered enormous emotions in New York, which in the night, however, erupted into violence among some of those celebrating.

A major Knicks championship parade is planned for Thursday in Manhattan. The city administration announced a significantly reinforced security deployment to prevent a recurrence of the incidents.

On the margins of the night, an additional sporting event took place without any direct connection to the riots: the World Cup match between Brazil and Morocco ended 1-1 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Around 15 yellow school buses had been deployed as shuttle buses for fans – one of which was set on fire at Times Square.