Homicide investigation closes tavern in Buffalo, New York

Del Denby’s Tavern on Hertel Avenue is forced to close as police investigate a homicide.

A 46-year-old man was shot and died following a fight at Del Denby Tavern on Hertel Avenue early Tuesday morning.

The victim’s name has not yet been released by Buffalo police, but the bar was ordered to close “to preserve the peace and good order,” according to a notice posted on the bar’s door.

Buffalo police suggested Tuesday afternoon that the victim knew the person who shot him, but they did not provide information about how they knew each other or release the name of a suspect.

The casual bar on Hertel Avenue, near the intersection with Parkside Avenue in a busy part of the neighborhood near a handful of other bars and restaurants, did not have a security guard working on the premises Monday evening , the police said.

The incident is said to have started with a fight between the victim and his shooter on the terrace of the bar, along Avenue Hertel. Buffalo Police Chief of Detectives Craig Macy said at a news conference that “a lot of digital evidence was recovered, not only from private cameras but also from the city camera located at the corner » of Hertel and Parkside avenues. While police believe the shooter and the victim knew each other and had spent time together during the evening before the fight outside the bar, Detective Macy would not say whether police knew the name of the alleged shooter Tuesday afternoon.

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He also stressed that, as evidenced by a series of violent events last weekend, “these incidents can happen anywhere in the city”, but confirmed that there had already been violent activity in this bar, including a shooting several years ago. A local media outlet reports that a man was hospitalized after being shot at the Del Denby Tavern in June 2021 following a large fight; other establishments have also been shut down by Buffalo police following violent incidents, including Club Marcella in December after four shootings, including one fatality, in less than a year.

It is not yet known when the bar will be allowed to reopen. Police are still working to identify and interview witnesses to the incident.