Police say masked bandits robbed and shot Knicks forward Cleanthony Early after he visited a strip club early this morning in Queens, the second time in two weeks a member of the Knicks has been a crime victim. NY1's Michael Herzenberg filed the following report.

Residents along 54th Street in Maspeth say they were woken up before dawn Wednesday by Knicks forward Cleanthony Early asking for someone to call 911.

"This is madness. Absolute madness," said one resident.

Police say the second-year Knick was robbed and shot a block away at 4:15 a.m. You can see evidence markers on the ground, an empty champagne bottle and police trying to figure out exactly what happened.

"Just a loud bang, I guess. I got woken up in the middle of the night," said one resident. "It's just scary, reading about it. I hope he's all right."

Police say Early and his girlfriend left the City Scapes strip club in an Uber cab and made it about a mile before three vehicles forced the uber to stop on Maurice Avenue, just before reaching Tyler Avenue. Four to six masked males jumped out and robbed Early of his jewelry, cash, cell phone and even gold teeth before shooting him above his right knee.

Early played less than a minute in Tuesday night's Knicks win against Detroit. The 6-foot-8 Bronx native was picked in the second round of the 2014 draft but missed two months of last season because of surgery on his right knee, the same knee that took a bullet Wednesday. Residents along 54th Street say he did not appear to be limping when police arrived.

Teammates took to social media when they heard the news, including rookie Kristaps Porzingis.

Early himself sent out a tweet Wednesday night thanking others for their support.

Early is the second Knick in less than two weeks victimized during a night out. Police say two women seen in surveillance video stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry from Derrick Williams after he took them home from a club in the Meatpacking District.

In Early's case, there are surveillance cameras lining the block, and police are looking for images that may provide clues in the case.

"Unfortunately, they probably recognized his face and something happens. Who knows, right?" said one person in the area.

The Knicks issued a statement saying that they are aware of what happened to Cleanthony Early and are relieved that his injuries are not life-threatening.

"We are aware of what occurred with Cleanthony Early this morning and are relieved that he is not in a life-threatening situation. We will not comment any further until we receive more information," the statement read.