Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison is under investigation in his hometown of Philadelphia in a shooting that took place earlier this week, a source close to the investigation told Anthony Gargano of Philadelphia’s WIP Radio.
Harrison was interviewed by police about the shooting near his North Philadelphia bar this week.
Lt. Frank Vanore said the investigation of Tuesday’s shooting was continuing. Harrison has not been arrested or charged.
“He was interviewed,” Vanore said Friday. “Why he was interviewed, that is all part of the investigation. No one is a suspect.”
After the first day of their rookie minicamp, Colts coach Tony Dungy said he knew little more than had been reported.
“My phone has been ringing, too, but I don’t have any details,” Dungy said. “I really don’t have any more information than you do.”
Calls by ESPN to Harrison and his agent have not been returned. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league was “aware of the report, and we are looking into it.”
The source said the alleged victim came into the bar, Playmakers, around 5 p.m. and engaged in an argument with Harrison, who was at the bar. The victim then left the bar, heading to his car, with Harrison following. Gunfire broke out, the victim was hit in the hand, and a young girl was slightly injured by flying glass from a car that apparently was hit by a bullet.
Police came to scene, but the victim did not identify a shooter. On Wednesday, according to the source, ballistic tests showed that the gun that had fired the shots was a custom-made Belgian weapon, and police determined that Harrison owned such a gun. A source told ESPN.com’s John Clayton that the gun is registered.
Police then went to a Philadelphia car wash owned by Harrison to question him about the gun. Harrison admitted owning such a weapon, but claimed it never left his suburban Philadelphia home.
However, the source said the gun was discovered in a bucket at the car wash, and tests showed that it had fired seven bullets that matched those found at the scene.
The source said police were contacted Friday by an attorney representing a second alleged victim in the shooting, and police are now waiting for that individual to come forward.
Harrison, a prep football star at Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High, has owned Playmakers since July 2004, according to state records.
Harrison has played his entire 12-season career with the Colts and is the franchise’s record-holder in every major receiving category — receptions (1,042), yards (13,944), touchdowns (123) and 100-yard games (59). The 35-year-old is one of only four players in league history to top 1,000 receptions.
But after eight consecutive Pro Bowl appearances, last season was the most frustrating of Harrison’s career.
He injured his left knee against Denver on Sept. 30, finished with 20 receptions for 247 yards and one TD and missed all but five games.
Team president Bill Polian said in February that Harrison was recovering from offseason arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and had been rehabilitating the inflamed capsule in his left knee. He was not expected to be completely healthy for the start of the Colts training camp July 24.
The typically quiet Harrison has a reputation for being humble on and off the field.
But he’s still one of the Colts’ most visible players — and their longest tenured veteran. Harrison, along with Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James, were nicknamed Indy’s triplets in the late 1990s. He was a first-round draft pick in 1996 out of Syracuse and wound up the best receiver in a class that included Keyshawn Johnson and Eric Moulds.
Off the field, Harrison was sued following the 2005 Pro Bowl when three boys accused him of attacking them when they tried to get his autograph. The suit alleged Harrison “violently and physically attacked” the minors, including placing a “potentially deadly choke hold” on one of the boys, but it was later dismissed.
Credit: ESPN
