HARTFORD, Conn. — HARTFORD- A mix of emotions in Hartford, after five people were shot at a nightclub.
Five people were shot, and one died after gunfire rang out in the Majestic Lounge nightclub, 451 Franklin Ave., early Sunday morning.
Police said the homicide victim is a 28-year-old male.
Two other victims, one male and one female, required surgery.
The other two surviving victims are in stable condition.
Police said a fight that turned violent between a group of people, it was not a random shooting that took place inside the club.
Police are looking through surveillance video.
There was a second scene on Maple Avenue where one of the victims got into a crash on the way to the hospital.
"I’m angry, I’m frustrated, I’m really embarrassed for the city of Hartford," said Reverend Henry Brown. People are calling for an end to violence in the city, but say that change can only come from the community itself.
"The solution is we have to do better in the community ourselves," said Reverend Brown. "People have to start owning up to what’s going on in Hartford," he said.
Lovey Brown lives on the third floor of the building where that shooting happened. He says the shots and chaos woke him up.
"I picked my son up, and I put him in my bed last night and I slept with him," he said. "I don’t know, maybe it’s just a dad thing," he said.
As a dad, he said the hardest part for him is seeing how the violence affects the youngest members of the community.
"Adults we should know better, but our kids have to walk these streets, our kids have to be immune to death in the community, and that’s the saddest part about this is our kids have to live through it," said Brown.
Other parents, like Lisa Gardner agree, struggling to feel safe in their own neighborhoods.
"Scary, very scary cause i have kids that come to the stores down here sometimes so it’s crazy," she said.
going forward they hope people become the change they want to see and encourage unity to make that change happen.
"For some reason or another we can’t get everybody to come together at one time and I think that’s what we need to do. I think from the governor’s office all the way down to the local pastors, all the way down to everybody in the community," said Reverend Brown.
Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin released the following statement:
"Last night a dispute at a night club turned deadly because individuals were in possession of illegal hand guns, and tragically four people were injured and one person was killed. Hartford Police Officers who were at the club responded immediately, running in the direction of gunfire, and their heroic efforts may have prevented further loss of life. The Police Department is actively pursuing leads in this investigation. We had officers at the club because we have had concerns about activity there in the past, though there had been no issues in recent weeks. We are now assessing what further steps we can take to prevent another incident at this specific location.”
