FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - An investigation is underway after a shooting outside a Fort Lauderdale nightclub injured one and killed two.
Authorities responded to a call of shots fired at the Broward Arts and Music Nightclub, also known as BAM, along Northwest 20th Terrace and West Broward Boulevard.
This all happened at around 4:30 a.m., Wednesday, just blocks away from the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Family members who showed up at the scene identified the victim as 21-year-old Wendell Soliphar. Two other people were also injured and managed to get to a nearby hospital, but one did not survive.
“I cannot stand it,” sobbed Soliphar’s aunt, Rose Doreus. “I cannot stand it!”
Soliphar’s body lied in the street for hours before his body was removed.
“He was leaving the club – I guess club BAM, whatever they call it – and my sister called me saying my cousin got shot,” said Junior Demelies, the victim’s cousin, “and I was asking her if they confirmed it, then I went back to sleep, and I wake up with like 30 missed calls on my phone saying he’s dead.”
Doreus, could be seen crying hysterically over her fallen nephew. “Last night when I sleeping, at 5 o’clock, my niece called me,” she said.
Relatives also told 7News the 21-year-old has an 8-year-old daughter and had just moved to Florida from the Bahamas a year ago in hopes of starting a new life.
“This life is short,” Demelies said. “He didn’t get to really experience everything.”
Soliphar’s family said they don’t believe he was a target. “They was going after somebody else, and he just got caught up in the mix,” said Soliphar’s cousin, Junior Demelies.
At this point, it is unknown how many people were involved or what led to the shooting.
“The homicide detectives are going to retrace his steps and try to figure out how he got to this point and why he became a victim,” said Broward Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Joy Oglesby. “We don’t know if it was random, if it was targeted. All of that is under consideration.”
The shooter managed to get away.
If you have any information on this fatal shooting, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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