Youth Basketball Game Canceled After Knife Threat

A youth basketball game in Florida was canceled after a man approached one of the coaches with a knife.

A video of the incident shows a man confronting one of the coaches. The man reportedly told the coach he had a knife, sending parents and player fleeing. 

The basketball game was for children seven and eight years old and was being held at Cooper City High School.

“We were watching our children play and all of a sudden, you see parents grabbing their kids and running all throughout the gym going through different exists out the door,” a concerned parent who asked to remain anonymous told Local 10 News.

The referee was forced to cancel the game, and an off-duty Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy escorted the man outside after he appeared to reach for a weapon.

“We didn’t know at the time what it was so that’s why at the time all the parents were grabbing their children, trying to get out of the gym that we were in because we didn’t know what was going to happen,” the parent said. 

That man has since been identified as 32-year-old Bryant Ezeamama. He was taken into custody after deputies discovered that he was reaching for a knife.

Ezeamama faces charges that include possession of a weapon on school grounds and disturbing the peace.