10 shot outside Allentown nightclub

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Ten people were shot outside the troubled Deja Vu nightclub on Hamilton Street in Allentown early Thursday morning, police said, in one of the Lehigh Valley’s worst mass shootings in recent memory.

Many remain in the hospital, but all are expected to survive, Allentown police Capt. Bill Lake said.

Police were called to the 300 block of Hamilton Street at 1:56 a.m. to a report of a shooting and found multiple victims outside of the nightclub, which has been the scene of other violent incidents in the recent past.

Most or all of the victims had just left the club or were standing on the sidewalk outside when the shots rang out, Lake said.

A woman who lives near the club — she asked not to be named because she fears reprisal — said she was woken by multiple shots and a loud bang. She went to her window and witnessed multiple people running from the club, followed by more shots.

She said she saw people hiding behind cars, others carrying friends out to get them help. Police and ambulances arrived before dispatchers even answered her 911 call.

“EMS drivers didn’t know where to start, people were everywhere ... People were screaming ‘that b — started shooting’”

Tashana Santiago, who lives at Third and Linden streets near the club, woke to the sound of gunshots, and saw people running across American Parkway into a shopping center. After the last few shots, she heard a car speeding away.

“When everything went silent all you could hear is the screaming and panicking,” Santiago said. “All I could think was someone is dying.”

Police from multiple departments swarmed the scene. Hamilton Street, between Third and Fourth streets, was closed in both directions until around 5 a.m. At least 18 evidence markers had been placed on Hamilton Street.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said he could not comment further on the investigation. Martin, who has served as district attorney since 1998, said he could recall no other shooting in the county with that many victims. He would not comment any further about the ongoing probe.

“I’m not going to answer any more questions about it,” he said Thursday morning. “It remains under investigation.”

Allentown police are asking anyone with information to call the detective bureau at 610437-7721. Callers can remain anonymous.

On Twitter, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-7th, said she was “horrified” by the shooting.

“Thankfully, there have been no fatalities,” she wrote. “I’m keeping a close eye on the situation and praying for the victims in the hospital.”

At the Allentown Rescue Mission, a few doors west of Deja Vu, program manager Edwin Ramos sent an email alerting staff members to “another shooting” on the block and asked them to pray for the victims.

“Let us also pray that the violence stops altogether,” he wrote.

The shelter has video cameras and was providing video to Allentown police.

Managing director Dean Browning said the neighborhood has grown more dangerous in the 60 years the shelter has operated at the location and he worries about the safety of staff and clients.

“I wish it weren’t like this, but this is the way our society is changing,” he said. “It’s one of those unfortunate situations, but this is where we are, and we just have to hope for the best that people change.”

Shelter resident James Saunders said he slept through the commotion, but saw police retrieve several blood-soaked shirts from a dumpster.