The shooting occurred just before 11 p.m. on Saturday, outside Palmetto Venues, located at 10 Park Pl.
When officers arrived, they found a 41-year-old man shot multiple times in the stomach. Police also found a 40-year-old man shot in his right arm.
"I looked out my window and saw a huge crowd screaming, all of them fighting," said one resident.
Police say the shooting stemmed from a verbal altercation between two men attending an event inside the venue. It spilled out into Municipal Parking Lot #1, which is adjacent to the venue run by Palmetto Venues.
The fight escalated when one man took out a firearm, leading three suspects to exchange gunfire.
"I heard all these fireworks going off, and then they stopped," said another resident. "Then the street was full of police, ambulances and partygoers terrified that had come out of the party."
Two additional victims were reported -- a 41-year-old man who arrived at Mountainside Hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg, and a 30-year-old woman who arrived at St. Barnabas Medical Center seeking treatment for a gunshot wound to her leg. Both individuals were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and later discharged.
Of the four victims, the man shot in the stomach remains in critical condition at a local hospital, while the three others have been treated and released.
The Verona Police Department is actively investigating at least three suspects connected to the shooting.
They have temporarily closed Palmetto Venues as they investigate. Neighbors say they are undecided about whether they want the business to survive, unless more protocols are put in place to keep away trouble.
The names of the suspects and victims were not provided by police.
The township is holding an in-person and virtual town hall meeting on Monday evening to discuss the incident.
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