North Buffalo responds to fatal bar shooting

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Serious safety concerns are now looming after a Buffalo man was shot and killed this week at a north Buffalo bar.

Buffalo police have now identified the victim as Madjid Elbert, 46, of Buffalo. Elbert was shot on the patio of Del Debany Tavernon Hertel Avenue near Parkside early Tuesday morning and died at ECMC. He was a chef and employee of Metz Culinary which serves ECMC in Buffalo.

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“It’s a tragedy what happened, I mean, I was a little shocked, to be honest with you,” said North Buffalo resident David Baldwin.

A day after the deadly shooting, I returned to the north Buffalo community and caught Baldwin who lives nearby.

“It’s a pretty peaceful neighborhood, but there have been some problems,” Baldwin responded.

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On Tuesday, I asked Buffalo Police Chief of Detectives Craig Macy about the problems at the bar. He told me there was a shooting in June 2021 and they had received several calls about incidents.

“So there was a previous shooting there. Shots are fired. There were fights, things of that nature,” Macy responded.

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“Del’s is a repeat offender and has had some very serious incidents there,” noted Delaware District Common Council member Joel Feroleto.

The bar is in Councilmember Feroleto’s Delaware district.

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“And it’s just very, very, very upsetting for the neighbors, for me and for the business owners. It’s a close-knit community and these issues don’t happen and don’t happen at any other establishment on Hertel Avenue,” Feroleto said.

On Tuesday, Buffalo police shut down the bar.

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“The Department of Permits and Inspections will hold a hearing, an administrative hearing, where the owner of the establishment will be served. He will certainly be invited to attend the hearing, the Buffalo Police Department will be there and a decision will be made on the future of this facility,” Feroleto said.

Some residents say that when rowdy patrons leave these bars on Hertel Avenue, the fights eventually spill over into the Walgreens parking lot at the corner of Hertel and Parkside.

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“I never witnessed anything happen in there. But I noticed, you know, in the Walgreens parking lot, things happened there, but, you know, you’re in a party district and you know, things happen,” Baldwin remarked.

But bar owner John Daly tells me the fatal shooting is no reflection on his business and called it “senseless.” However, there was no security in the bar.

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“What about security in your bar? Do you have any help? asked Buckley. “On busy nights we have someone checking IDs, you know, usually the other person checking the bartenders IDs,” Daly responded.

The police are continuing their investigation. They say it was not a “random act” and that the victim and suspect knew each other, but no arrests were made Wednesday.