SANFORD, Fla. — A few minutes after stepping off the stage at The Barn in Sanford, a performer was shot multiple times in the parking lot, police said.
The shooting happened about 2 a.m. Monday at the nightclub on French Avenue, the Sanford Police Department said.
“There was no screaming or argument. I just heard gunshots. A lot of them. A lot,” said Drea Browder, who witnessed the shooting.
The victim, a man in his 20s, was found in the parking lot of the bar critically injured with multiple gunshot wounds, police said.
The man’s name has not been released.
More than 20 bullet casings were found in the nightclub’s parking lot.
Photos: Person shot outside 'The Barn' in Sanford
No information was available on the performers scheduled to play Sunday night on The Barn's website and social media accounts.
While the shooting took place in a crowded parking lot, police said they have not been able to get much information from witnesses at the scene.
“I was more or less shocked,” Browder said. “I wasn’t scared, I was just like, ‘Whoa, is this happening right now?’”
Scott Magowan, the co-owner of the bar, told Channel 9’s Cuthbert Langley that everyone goes through a metal detector before coming inside, a wand is used to pick up any weapons, then the person is patted down.
“I can't control what goes on in people's cars but there were no weapons in this building,” Magowan said.
There are 14 surveillance cameras around the bar and the co-owner said the cameras spotted a dark-colored sedan speeding off after the shooting.
Private security helps patrol the bar, the co-owner said. Sanford Police patrolled the bar up until two months ago.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the Sanford Police Department.
In 2015, Sanford police said they had been called to The Barn more than 700 times in the previous 18 months. Officers said they have been run down in the parking lot after responding to three dozen fights and 31 disturbances.
Cox Media Group
