2nd shooting outside Saugus club has leaders concerned

(NECN: Katie Davis, Saugus, Mass.) – Police took a suspect into custody following an overnight shooting at a Saugus, Massachusetts nightclub. All three victims of the shooting were expected to recover. Police were already at the club dealing with parking problems when shots rang out in the crowded parking lot. Officers arrested suspect Ronjae Williams, 29, at the scene. “Right now, we don’t have any particulars on what the motive was for the violence,” Lt. Leonard Campanello said. “We’re still actively investigating it, along with State Police and the Essex County District Attorney’s office.” The shooting was the second linked to the Orchid Nightclub in the past week. Last Saturday, a drive-by shooting left two people injured. Investigators believed the people involved in that shooting had just left the club. Managers at the nightclub have said they were doing everything they could to prevent arguments and violence. But some leaders in Saugus said they are concerned, because, unlike the first shooting on the highway, the second shooting happened just outside the club’s front door. “This isn’t Washington, D.C. or New York City,” Selectman Steve Castinetti said. “This is Saugus. We’ve never had this. We don’t want it now, and we’re not going to allow it to happen on Saugus grounds.” Selectman Castinetti said this weekend’s shooting is part of a growing trend of violence linked to several local clubs. The Board of Selectmen questioned a group of business owners who hold liquor licenses about the problem on Thursday. NECN spoke with one club manager on Saturday who stressed that the shooting happened outside the business, where he said a club cannot control what customers do. Board members may hold an emergency meeting as soon as Monday.