Say it aint so Marvin

[Bobby O'Shea]

I never pictured him to be the kinda guy to get involved in this stuff

—Indianapolis Colts star receiver Marvin Harrison was interviewed by police about a shooting near his North Philadelphia car wash 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.”

Vanore told WCAU-TV the shooting occurred near 25th and Thompson streets, near a car wash owned by Harrison and about a half-mile from a bar also owned by the All-Pro receiver.

Earlier, radio station WIP, citing unidentified sources, reported the alleged shooting victim argued with Harrison at Playmakers bar. The victim left and headed to his car, Harrison followed and gunfire broke out, the station reported. The alleged victim was shot in the hand and did not identify the shooter, according to the radio station.

Varone also said a child was hit in the eyes by broken glass, but was treated and released from a hospital.
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Harrison, a prep football star at Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High, has owned Playmakers since July 2004, according to state records.

Harrison’s agent, Tom Condon, denied the player was involved in the shooting.

“I’ve spoken with Marvin and I’ve spoken with his attorney, and they say the reports are erroneous,” Condon told ESPN. “Marvin was not involved in any shooting, and he is not the subject of this investigation.”

It was business as usual Friday night at the bar, located in the middle of the block in a neighborhood of rowhouses. Through two large picture windows, a handful of patrons could be seen sitting at the bar, and others were playing pool amid framed pro football jerseys on the walls.

A man working the door at Playmakers refused to comment on the media reports involving Harrison and would not allow a reporter to enter.

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.”

Colts team president Bill Polian said in a statement the team would withhold comment until it got more information.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league is aware of the report and is looking into it.

A source told WIP that ballistic tests showed the shots were fired from a custom-made Belgian weapon, and police determined Harrison owns that kind of gun.

Police went to a Philadelphia car wash about a half-mile away that is owned by Harrison and questioned him about the gun, the station said. Harrison acknowledged owning such a weapon, but told officials it never left his suburban Philadelphia home, the radio station reported.

The source told the station a gun was discovered in a bucket at the car wash, and tests showed it had fired bullets that matched those at the scene.

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.

AP Sports Writer Michael Marot in Indianapolis contributed to this report.