Cops, liquor officials seek answers in Felton attack

There's no shortage of questions about the Felton Supper Club, the rundown nuisance nightspot that served as the backdrop for a horrific mass shooting in the wee hours on Sunday.

Cops want to know the identities of the two thugs who made the sidewalks run red with blood when they opened fire on a crowd of patrons outside the club about 2:45 a.m., leaving nine people wounded.

State liquor-control officials want to know who, exactly, is running the Felton and is responsible for the frequent events that run loud and long into the night.

And anyone who cares about the Feltonville neighborhood where the nightspot is situated wants to know why it's taken so long for local authorities to decide to shutter the place, once and for all.

Police investigators spent all day yesterday at the club, on Rising Sun Avenue near Louden Street, trying to answer the first question.

Lt. Raymond Evers, a police spokesman, said detectives were interviewing neighbors and reviewing neighborhood surveillance footage in an attempt to identify the shooters.

"The videos are not good quality, so we have to sift through what we have," Evers said. "They show people running and have someone who may have been a target."

Evers said police believe that the gunmen intended to shoot only one of the nine victims but that the area was so crowded that those nearby the intended target were struck as well.

Only two of the nine victims remained hospitalized yesterday, including a 23-year-old man who was in stable condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center recovering from five bullet wounds to his back and legs.

Members of the State Police Liquor Control Enforcement (LCE), meanwhile, were trying to determine who is responsible for the Felton Supper Club.

Sgt. Bill LaTorre, of LCE, said investigators met last night with Omar Infante, who is reportedly involved with JR Entertainment, the company that operates the club, according to real-estate records.

Infante and his attorney, Ricardo Jefferson, "state that [the club] was rented out to a third party," LaTorre said. "However, no contract was provided to the bureau, which is required by law."

LaTorre said LCE cited the Felton on May 1 for three violations: serving alcohol after 2 a.m.; allowing a DJ to play music after 2 a.m., and allowing patrons to leave the club with alcohol.

Notices of the violations were sent to JR Entertainment, the Police Department and the city, he said.

The city allowed the Felton to operate with a special assembly license, which requires the club to meet certain requirements.

The club was shuttered after a patron was shot and killed on New Year's Day after leaving the club. Another patron was shot inside the nightspot in December.

The city allowed the Felton to reopen last month, provided its operators agreed to provide security for events and notify police about the events, a police source said.

But the source said the department had not been notified about the event that was held inside the club over the weekend.

Tasha Jamerson, spokeswoman for District Attorney Seth Williams, said the D.A.'s office is seeking a temporary restraining order to get the Felton immediately shuttered while it seeks a permanent solution.