Shooting on city’s south side under investigation

A shooting and several fights April 2 at a bar on Lorain’s south side sent a 23-year-old Cleveland man to the hospital with gunshot wounds and resulted in at least two arrests, according to multiple Lorain police reports.

The Cleveland man who was shot initially was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center in Lorain before he was transported to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland.

The report said the man suffered two through-andthrough gunshot wounds, including one to the right thigh and one to the left calf, but was unaware of who shot him.

About 1:30 a.m., officers responded to The Cotton Club, 1776 E. 28th St., for complaints about shots being fired outside the front door of the bar. Upon arrival, officers met with a 22-year-old Oberlin woman who said a fight broke out on the stage during a rap performance.

According to the report, the woman claimed she overhead one suspect say, “I’m going to get the burner,” and then exited the bar as the fight was occurring.

The first suspect was described as a lightskinned, possibly black or Hispanic male with faded dark hair and short curls on top who was around 5 feet 5 inches in height and wearing a white shirt.

That suspect, as well as a second suspect who was described as a 6-foottall black male wearing a red shirt, were heard yelling “I’m from Cleveland,” during the fight, the report said.

Shortly after the fight on the stage, the female witness exited the bar’s front door and observed the first suspect with his right hand in his pocket holding a black and silver handle, which she believed was a gun, according to the report.

The witness heard a single shot while walking to her car, which was parked on Pearl Avenue, the report said.

As she began to run, the woman witnessed the two suspects running in the same direction toward another vehicle, but she was unable to provide a vehicle description.

According to the report, the bar did not have any working surveillance cameras, but officers hope footage captured by cameras on nearby businesses will help lead them to the suspects. Officers did not locate any shell casings outside The Cotton Club.

Despite reports of shots fired and the arrival of police, the 150 patrons at the bar continued to act as though nothing happened and claimed to know nothing about the shooting, according to the report.

While police attempted to conduct their investigation, another fight involving men and women broke out on the front sidewalk, the report said.

Officers then began clearing the bar, and a man identified as Willie Williams Jr., 30, of Lorain, was heard yelling expletives toward officers and attempting to re-enter the bar, the report said.

Williams, according to the report, then tried to run from police before he was tackled and taken into custody for failure to disperse, disorderly conduct persisting and disorderly conduct intoxication.

Darshan S. Norman, 24, of Elyria, also was arrested April 2 and charged with assault after punching a 51-year-old male security guard in the face as he worked clear out the bar, the report said.

Officers witnessed the incident and described the punch as “completely unprovoked.”

The investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.

Anyone with any additional details regarding the incident is asked to contact the Lorain Police Department at 440204-2100.