Police were called out to the speakeasy on 900 Martin Luther King Boulevard just before 5 a.m. and found four people shot, Mayor George Muschal said.
One man was killed and several others were injured in a shooting at an illegal city night club early this morning, officials said.
Police were called out to the speakeasy on 900 Martin Luther King Boulevard just before 5 a.m. and found four people shot, Mayor George Muschal said.
The man was pronounced dead just before 10 a.m. and another person is in extremely critical condition at Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, Muschal said.
A woman was severely burned by grease from a deep fryer when she tried to run from the building, Muschal said. She suffered second and third degree burns on her legs, he said.
“There was a woman that was in there in the speakeasy, apparently they were cooking,” Muschal said. “When the gunfire went out, she tried to run out and hit that turkey fryer.”
The man who was killed lived above the speakeasy, First Assistant Prosecutor Angelo Onofri said. Officials have not released his identity pending notification of next of kin, he said.
Speakeasies are not legally permitted to operate, and city inspections will work to shut down any speakeasy that is found to be operating in the city, Muschal said.
“Its’ not legal, and the thing is, inspections is going to be notified Monday and of course this place is going to be shut down,” he said.
Muschal spoke with Police Director Ralph River Jr. and authorized him to hire additional police officers to work tonight. He said he is also in the process of adding 25 additional officers to the force.
“It’s an illegal speakeasy, and the bottom line is it did not even belong to be open, but with the shortness of manpower, our officers can’t even get there,” Muschal said. “We’re going out limited, you know, we’re going out with 12 men. It’s a suicide mission.”
Anyone with information about the shooting should call the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406 or the Trenton police Confidential Tip Line at 989-3663.
CONNECT WITH US:
On mobile or desktop:
• Like Times of Trenton on Facebook
• Follow @TimesofTrenton on Twitter