Two men were shot inside Toad’s Place Wednesday night, and the culprit remains on the loose.
New Haven Police Department spokesman Joseph Avery confirmed the shootings, saying it occurred around 10:48 p.m. during a local hip-hop showcase at Toad’s. No Yalies were involved, but members of the Yale community should avoid the area, Yale Police Department Chief Ronnell Higgins said in an email to the Yale community sent at 12:25 a.m.
Shortly after the shootings, York Street outside the nightclub was filled with police and emegency vehicles and the two shooting victims were seen being wheeled out on stretchers. They were taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital with non-life-threatening wounds, NHPD Sergeant David Guliuzza said at the scene.
Guliuzza said there were multiple shots fired inside the club. He added that he did not know if the two men shot were the intended targets.
A person who was in the club when the shooting occurred, but asked not to be identified, said that after shots were fired, fights started breaking out and people started throwing chairs at each other.
In his e-mail to the Yale community, Higgins added that although no one was taken into custody, the police do have the description of one male suspect. As of early Thursday morning, he has yet to be apprehended.
One of the men who had been shot was seen sitting up and talking on the stretcher. The other man was lying on his back with his eyes closed.
Both Yale and New Haven Police Departments were on the scene, but a Yale Police Department sergeant said that the YPD would not be handling the case at all — it falls under the purview of the NHPD, he said.
Over 40 Yalies were temporarily trapped in Lily’s Pad at a society event, and were not seen leaving the building until around 11:17 p.m. Students leaving the event said they had not heard the shots.
The usual Wednesday night dance party was cancelled.
Alon Harish contributed reporting.
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