Teen stabbed fatally at basketball game

A 19-year-old man was stabbed to death Thursday night after a knife fight erupted at a basketball court in Willingboro, authorities said yesterday.

Authorities arrested Darnell Williams, also 19, yesterday and charged him with the murder of Julian Corry, according to Joel Bewley, a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office.

The melee, which involved from 15 to 20 people, left two others with stab wounds and a third with head injuries.

Authorities believe the brawl may have been fueled by a rivalry between Willingboro neighborhoods.

"We don't consider this to be street gang-related," Bewley said.

The fight broke out shortly before 10 p.m., Bewley said, when a group had gathered at a basketball court near Garfield Park East School off Evergreen Drive.

Williams was among those standing at the court when a group from the East Buckingham section of the township, including Corry, approached, Bewley said.

Williams stabbed Corry once in a leg, Bewley said. The other injuries are not life-threatening, Bewley said.

Corry was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital, where he died early yesterday.

Authorities also believe someone fired gunshots in the area during the fight. An off-duty Westampton police officer who lives near the basketball court heard what he thought were shots and went out to investigate. That officer detained three people who were trying to flee, Bewley said, including Williams.

No one was reported to have been shot, and the origin of the gunfire is still under investigation. Detectives said they had found the knife used in Corry's killing.

Anyone with information about the fight is being asked to call the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office at 609-265-5058 during normal business hours or 609-265-7105 nights and weekends. Witnesses may also call the secret witness hotline at 609-267-7667.