Five shot in club

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — A Bloomfield bar was attacked with a barrage of gunfire Friday night, Dec. 2.

Sports in the City, a nightclub located on the corner of North 13th Street and 1st Avenue, was hit by a minimum of 33 rounds of gunshot, according to Bloomfield Police Director Sam DeMaio. The club is located on the Bloomfield-Newark border and is surrounded by three-family houses and small businesses. A laundromat is across the street. According to police, before the shooting began at least three suspected shooters exited a vehicle that had stopped in front of the bar. This past Tuesday morning, shattered glass could be seen at the front entrance of the shuttered business.

According to DeMaio, a party was in progress inside the bar at the time of the attack. He would not disclose the nature of the party, but said a 9-1-1 call at 11:45 p.m. alerted Bloomfield Police to the gunfire. Three types of shell casings were found outside the bar but he would not disclose the types of firearms used, as determined by the shells.

“We don’t believe any shots were returned,” he said of gunfire coming from inside the bar. “Five people inside the bar were struck. Several were released from the hospital while two are still in the hospital.”

He said the injuries were not life-threatening.
DeMaio said all the people attending the party were residents of either Newark, East Orange, Roselle or Irvington. The leaseholder of the nightclub is a Newark resident. “Many of the patrons had extensive criminal records,” he said.

Bloomfield and Newark police were working together on the case, DeMaio said, because all the victims resided in Newark. Thirty people had attended the party and statements were taken from 25. “Someone was definitely being targeted,” DeMaio said. A tip given to Newark Police recovered a .357 magnum gun and 12 bricks of heroin in a vehicle outside the bar. DeMaio did not believe the gun was used in the shooting.

He said that Newark police would be processing ballistic tests on the bullets recovered and the NJ State Police would check the identity of the fingerprints.