Several WNBA players who were next door to the deadly New Year’s Eve nightclub shooting in Istanbul are “safe and accounted for,” the league says.
Brian Agler, coach of the Los Angeles Sparks, confirmed to the Associated Press that Essence Carson had texted him to say that she, along with Chelsea Gray and Jantel Lavender of the Sparks, were fine. In an earlier tweet that has been deleted, Carson wrote that she was “stuck inside of the club because of ‘terror’ shooting in Istanbul. Praises to the most high.”
About two dozen WNBA players are spending their offseason playing in a league in Turkey.
“The attack at Reina [nightclub] in Istanbul was tragic and we send our heartfelt condolences and prayers to the victims and their families,” WNBA Commissioner Lisa Borders said in a statement. “The WNBA was in contact with our players in the region after the incident; we are thankful each one of them is safe and accounted for.”
The league recently partnered with LiveSafe, a safety communications platform, to provide a cellphone security app to about 60 players who are in Russia, Turkey, China and other countries this offseason.
On Saturday, an assailant believed to have been dressed in a Santa Claus costume opened fire in Reina, killing at least 39 and wounding 69 others in what has been described as a terrorist attack. The assailant is still at large.
(c) 2017, The Washington Post ยท Cindy Boren
