he Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A DJ was shot and wounded early Monday during a shootout with police officers outside a popular DeKalb County nightclub, police said.
The shooting happened outside the Velvet Room, a club in the 3300 block of Chamblee Tucker Road.
The club was hosting an album release party Sunday night for Rick Ross and Sean “Diddy” Combs, according to the Velvet Room’s website.
About 4 a.m., two off-duty officers working at the nightclub heard gunshots in the back of the club, according to DeKalb Public Safety Director Cedric Alexander.
When the officers responded to the rear of the club, “one subject turned toward them, firing shots,” Alexander said. “They returned fire, hitting the subject in the leg.”
The officers were uninjured, according to Alexander.
He said the wounded man, who was identified to investigators as a disc jockey at the club, got up and went back inside the club, where he was arrested before being transported to Grady Memorial Hospital.
“For whatever unknown reasons, it appears that this DJ who was involved in the shooting with some others turned and shot at the officers, and that’s when they returned fire,” Alexander said.
He said the off-duty officers were in full uniform, and identified themselves as officers when they responded to the gunfire behind the club.
“They were doing what they were trained to do,” Alexander told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They took all the necessary actions to protect themselves and each other.”
The officers were placed on administrative duty, standard procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting.
The wounded DJ’s name has not been released.
Alexander said there was “no reason to believe” that any of the celebrities at the club for the album release party were involved in the shooting.
The incident was the second shooting in as many days at a party featuring Combs.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament in Charlotte ended with violence at a party at a hotel that featured the rapper.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said two people were shot in the leg early Sunday in a crowded hotel party for some of the thousands of CIAA fans in town.
CIAA Tournament Commissioner Jacqie Carpenter would not talk about the incident because it was not a CIAA-sanctioned event.
Police have not released the names of the victims or said whether they had any connection to Combs or other entertainers at the event. One person was taken to the hospital and the other was treated and released at the scene.
No arrests have been reported. The shooting happened in a gated-off VIP stage area. Some witnesses said three shots were fired.
The party started Saturday night, as the final game between Winston-Salem State University and Livingstone College was being played. The event also included rappers Fabolous and Future
The Velvet Room shooting was also the second officer-involved shooting in DeKalb County overnight.
A Stone Mountain police officer shot and wounded a suspect Sunday night on Ridge Forest Drive in Stone Mountain.
“The officer used force, discharged a firearm,” said Special Agent Brian Whidby of the GBI, which was called in to investigate the shooting.
“The officer was not injured,” Whidby told Channel 2s Action News. “The person shot received non-life threatening injuries.”
Authorities have not said what led to that shooting.
The Associated Press contributed to this article. Via AJC
