Suspects Sought In Gunfire After Lakewood Banquet Hall

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A fight at a Lakewood banquet hall led to shots being fired early Saturday, and three people were being sought in the incident, Lakewood police said.

Police were called just after 1 a.m. Saturday to the El Oaxaqueno Supermarket on Clifton Avenue for a report of shots fired in a banquet hall on the second floor of the building, Lakewood Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said.

Lakewood Officer Michael Milano and other responding officers found a large crowd of people leaving the hall when they arrived. Banquet hall management said there was a fight between partygoers in the hall, but that they had not heard gunfire, Staffordsmith said.

The officers found evidence of a shooting in a rear parking lot, where several several cars had damage caused by bullets. Several witnesses told police six shots were fired toward the rear of the building by one of three males, but police did not find any gunshot victims at the scene and were unable to determine whether anyone was injured, he said.

The suspects were described as one male wearing a red sweatshirt, blue denim pants and an unknown baseball-style cap, one wearing a white sweatshirt, blue denim pants and a white baseball cap, and the third possible suspect was wearing a black sweatshirt, blue denim pants and a black baseball-style cap.

All left prior to police arrival, possibly in a gray or silver sedan toward First Street, Staffordsmith said.

The suspects are considered armed and dangerous, and anyone who may have seen them or who may have information regarding the incident is asked to contact Detective Michael Cavallo at 732-363-0200, ext. 5317.

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