A rap artist was the intended target of shots fired early Sunday outside a Raleigh nightclub, police said. No one was injured.
Before 4 a.m., officers responded to reports of a shooting at the Star Bar on Trawick Road, near New Bern Avenue in east Raleigh.
According to the Raleigh Police Department, more than 20 shots were fired in the parking lot outside the bar. Police said the intended target appeared to be the performer, identified on the bar’s website as rapper OMB Peezy.
Police said gunshots struck the rap artist’s van, which he and his team use for travel, and three other cars in the parking lot, but no one was hurt.
A witness who didn’t want to be identified told WRAL News the chaos erupted during a party after the show.
“Once we got to the club, I would say about 4 a.m., is when we heard shots fired outside the club, and everybody pretty much ran outside,” the woman said.
The woman said gunfire hit her car as she ran for cover.
“We couldn’t really tell where the shots were coming from,” she said.
Visibly shocked, the woman said she felt “nervous, mad and scared.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have come,” she said.
WRAL News has previously covered shootings at Star Bar, a location police said they have been called to many times in recent years.
Investigators spent more than four hours at the shooting scene Sunday trying to differentiate between new and old damage, according to police. Crime scene tape surrounded the business, and investigators were searching vehicles and bags left at the scene.
In August, two people were shot at Star Bar, and in 2020, the bar lost its liquor license after a series of shootings and stabbings on or near the property. That license was reinstated in May 2021 and renewed in April 2024.
Additionally, Raleigh police said neighbors have complained about Star Bar.
“I will not be coming to Star Bar again,” one witness said.
Shots were fired overnight at another club, Patio Bar, located at 2925 New Bern Ave. Although the bars are located only 1 mile apart, the shootings are not related, police said.
An off-duty officer working at Patio Bar heard the gunshots and called for help, Raleigh police said. No one was injured.