OFF THE WIRE
PHOENIX - Police have identified the victim of a shooting at a private club in Phoenix Saturday morning. Abdul Akbar, 30, was shot before he crashed his car. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
There were two other men, ages 26 and 28, in Akbar's car. Police said they were not injured.
The shooter was still on the loose Saturday night. Police described him as black with a light complexion, between 25 and 30 years old, wearing a white shirt over a red shirt, with his hair in cornrows. He was driving a light-colored 4-door Cadillac when he left the scene.
Clubs are not usually found in the area of 16th Street and Grant. But it’s there, and it’s a private venue -- more bike shop that anything else -- with a satellite dish on the roof and a grill out front. Otherwise, the industrial building is inconspicuous.
But it was outside the warehouse, where the Black Sabbath Motorcycle Club is known to hang out, that a fight quickly turned into a fatal shooting during the early morning hours.
“The club had shut down for the night, and people were exiting the club and wandering around the parking lot. These three victims had approached a couple of females who were in the parking lot and began talking with them,” said Phoenix police Sgt. Steve Martos.
Apparently, another young man in the lot decided he didn't like the three men talking to the ladies, and that's when the shooting started.
Dozens of shots rang out from both the suspect and Akbar, who'd gotten behind the wheel of his car and was driving away.
“The victim driver was able to return fire and did shoot at the suspect as well,” Martos said.
There was no word on whether or not the suspect or anyone with him was shot.
Police gave no indication that any one in the motorcycle club had anything to do with the shooting, but they are looking into whether or not the fight may have been gang-related.
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/crime/police-id-man-shot-to-death-near-private-club-11272010
