The City of Gary has notified the owners of a nightclub that was the scene of a mass shooting early Sunday morning that it will be shut down until further notice.
Mayor Jerome Prince, in an emailed letter, told the owners of Playo’s Nightclub LLC that the club’s business license is also facing suspension and possibly revocation after two people were killed and four others were injured. Prince said in the letter that the business’s attorneys should contact the city’s law department Monday.
Gary Police responded at 1:57 a.m. June 12 to a call of shots fired at Playo’s Night Club, 1700 Grant St, said Gary Police spokeswoman Lt. Dawn Westerfield in a release Sunday. They found an unresponsive man who’d been shot near the entrance and an unresponsive woman inside the nightclub upon arrival, she said.
Medics took the two to Methodist Hospital’s Northlake campus, where they were declared dead. The Lake County Coroner’s Office in separate releases identified them as Jonte Dorsey, 34, of Joliet, Illinois; and Jah’Nice Quinn, 26, of Merrillville.
In a separate statement, Prince offered condolences in behalf of the city to the families of Dorsey and Quinn, of Merrillville.
“I cannot imagine the pain you’re feeling, and I truly wish I could offer words to comfort you. We also send prayers for full healing for those who were injured,” Prince said.
Four other people were shot as and taken to other area hospitals, Westerfield said; three of them endured non-life threatening injuries and one was in critical condition.
The Griffith, Lake Station, Highland and Indiana University Northwest Police, along with Lake County Sheriff’s Police, assisted with crowd control and helping the large number of victims, Westerfield said.
State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, in a statement Sunday said the citizens of Gary are grieving the murders and horrific shooting at Playo’s Nightclub — coming on the heels of last weekend’s shooting after the graduation ceremony for West Side Leadership Academy outside the U.S. Steel Yard that injured multiple people.
“For a second weekend of mass shootings, it is a sobering reminder that when violence strikes any of us — it strikes all of us. The people of Gary are genuine and loving people and we can’t allow ongoing gun violence to change who we are or the values that make us a great city,” Melton said.
He said as a state senator he would continue to fight for commonsense gun law reform.
“In an effort to prevent increased gun violence and loss of lives, I recently urge (Gov. Eric Holcomb) to call a special session to repeal the permitless carry law approved this session and fully fund and implement a variety of violence prevention efforts in Gary,” Melton said.
“We must act immediately and proactively to protect our community from senseless violence.” Melton said.
After calling for gun reform at the national level, Prince then issued a warning to other businesses about which the Gary Police Department receives a high number of calls.
“If their operations are jeopardizing our communities, we will hold them accountable, too,” Prince said. “We will do what it takes to protect our community.”
The Metro Homicide Unit is investigating. Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to call 219-755-3855 or the Crime Tip Line at 866-CRIME-GP.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.