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Boston Celtics Paul Pierce Stabbed at Boston Nightclub

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Another athlete in the news, this news -- news conference that just happened. Moments ago, Boston Police Department, Mary Ellen Burns, briefed reporters with regard to the stabbing of Boston Celtics player Paul Pierce.

We're going to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY ELLEN BURNS, DIRECTOR MEDIA RELATIONS, BOSTON POLICE: At approximately 1:00 this morning Boston police responded to the Buzz Club, which is at 51 Stuart Street in the Theater District. Upon arrival, officers learned that one victim, 24-year-old Paul Pierce, had been stabbed several times during an altercation inside the nightclub.

The victim was attending a private party being held at this location. According to witnesses, the stabbing took place in the pool room located in the rear of the nightclub. The victim was at the Buzz Club with several friends at the time of the stabbing. Mr. Pierce was driven by friends to the nearby New England Medical Center and self- applied there for treatment.

He is in fair condition at the NEMC at this time. He underwent surgery this morning. We are told that his family is by his side right now. The Buzz Club will be cited for license code violations. The exact nature of those charges is still being determined.

Any questions?

QUESTION: What was the nature of the fight, Mary Ellen?

BURNS: We don't know the nature of the fight at this time because Mr. Pierce was self-applied to the hospital. He was taken there by some friends. We are really not sure. By the time we got there, I believe that he was gone. The -- that room, the pool room in the back of the nightclub was determined to be a crime scene, and we do have investigators who went out there, were working on it. Many of you had questions earlier. The homicide unit was initially called out to the scene. They are not doing the investigation. The investigation is being handled by the detectives in the district at this time. It is not unusual for homicide to be called out to an incident like that, just in case they are needed.

QUESTION: You say he was driven by friends...

QUESTION: Where was he stabbed, Mary Ellen?

BURNS: He was stabbed in the face, the neck and the back from what we understand.

QUESTION: Do you know if there were any other Celtics there?

BURNS: He apparently was with several friends. At least one of them was a Celtics player and they are the ones who brought him to the hospital and took care of him.

QUESTION: Do you know who that Celtics player was?

BURNS: I wouldn't really say at this time.

QUESTION: The latest on suspects.

BURNS: We do have some statements made by some of the people who were in the nightclub, that some members of a local music group, a rap group, may have been involved in this. We are investigating that. Many of you have been asking me questions about that throughout the morning. That is something that we are looking into but we do have to do a great deal of investigating to determine exactly what happened in there. That's the nature, really, of anything that happens like this inside of a nightclub.

QUESTION: Do you know if this rap group was performing at this party?

BURNS: I do not believe so. My understanding is that they were attending the party.

QUESTION: What kind of a party was this?

BURNS: I don't know what the party was for. I know that it was some sort of a ticketed event.

QUESTION: Neighbors around there say, typically, that club is not opened on Sunday nights; that would be unusual.

BURNS: I don't know. I do know that the club operates under different names, different nights of the week, because when we, kind of, brought it up, it comes out as different names, so, apparently there are different nights stipulated for different types. Many of the clubs in the city have things like that. They have Latin nights or they have, you know, whatever nights, so...

BURNS: I understand that also it's a gay club.

QUESTION: It may be on certain nights of the week, yes. I believe that's true, but this was a private party, though, being held. I have a ticket, but I couldn't really see exactly what it was for.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Once again that was a news conference that happened just moments ago. Mary Ellen Burns from the Boston Police department briefing reporters on the stabbing of Boston Celtics player Paul Pierce. Evidently he was attending a party at a nightclub in the area.

He is said to be in fair condition, right now, in the hospital. We will continue to bring you more information as we get it.

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