By Leslie Albrecht and Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Staff
HARLEM — A Harlem man who regularly played basketball with local Assemblyman Keith Wright was shot to death Monday evening across the street from the YMCA, police and neighbors said.
Anthony Campbell, 37, was found lying on the sidewalk around 8:20 p.m. with two gunshot wounds to his chest, police said. He was taken to Harlem Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.
He was part of a weekly pick-up basketball game at the YMCA at 180 W. 135th St. with Wright, who said he had been notiifed of the murder on Tuesday by another member of their team.
"It’s just been a stark reality in urban areas throughout the United States that we just have too many damn guns on the street," said Wright, who lives two blocks from the shooting. "The police can only do so much, but we as a community have to do something too."
Wright said he didn't know the victim personally, and said he had no idea what sparked the violence.
"I have no reason, not a clue, whatever the reason was, it wasn’t worth his life," Wright said.
Campbell's 32-year-old brother, William Campbell, was grazed on the back by a bullet during the incident, police said. He was taken to Harlem Hospital in stable condition, police said.
A resident of the YMCA housing upstairs from the sports facility said he heard the shots and looked out his window to see the victim lying on the ground with another distraught man kneeling over his body.
"The guy who was with him, he wasn’t in his right state of mind," said Randy Jackson, 27, "He was over him, trying to talk to him, trying to see if he was breathing or something. It’s sad."
Neighbors said the victims grew up on the same street where they were shot. The victim was a family man who played basketball regularly at the YMCA, and would often pick his son up from basketball games there.
"You won’t find too many people who have anything bad to say about him," said a friend who asked not to be identified. "It’s a sad day. If the guy was a creep, it would be easier to understand this. He wasn’t a bad guy, that’s for sure."
YMCA staff said they were pulling membership records for NYPD Detectives investigating the case, and said it did not appear that the victim was a member of the YMCA.
"We consider ourselves to be a positive influence in the neighbrhood and we're saddened by this," YMCA spokesman Kevin Shermach said.
Police have not yet made any arrests in the incident.
