Witnesses said the shooting occurred near closing time at 1:45 a.m. as patrons left the venue, according to the Denver Post. One person remained in critical condition at press time. The other four injured were treated and released, a Denver Health spokeswoman told the paper.
Police had few leads at the time and were uncertain as to what caused the altercation or who was responsible, according to the Post.
A neighbor, Amy McCracken, told the paper the gunshots came in rapid fire.
“They fight all the time outside the club,” McCracken said. “I knew one day there would be gunshots.”
Another witness said he saw one person shot in the leg and another shot in the back.
Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman reportedly said in the past that Vinyl owner Regas Christou, whose family maintains six clubs in the vicinity, does not get off-duty police security.
“He lost the right to hire any police,” Whitman told the Post. “It’s not a right. It’s probably a matter of the violence in his clubs.”
An altercation two years ago at the nearby Shelter, owned by Christou, resulted in the drive-by killing of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams, the paper noted.