Two police officers working off duty among 6 shot at nightclub brawl in Gastonia

Two Gastonia police officers working off duty were among six people shot during a brawl late Thursday at a nightclub in Gastonia, about 20 miles west of Charlotte.

All six of the wounded had non-life threatening injuries, according to a press release from the Gastonia Police Department.

Two suspects have been arrested: Alonzo Lewis Hamilton, 30, of Charlotte and Allen Slaughter, 29, of Charlotte, according to Gaston County jail records. Bond was set at $1 million each for the pair, who are charged with six felony counts each of assault with deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, the release said.

The officers were identified as Gastonia Police Sgt. E. Nelson and Officer M. Lewis. Identities of the other four people were not released.

Investigators say the shooting broke out around 11 p.m. at Remedies, a bar and restaurant at 1225 Union Road in Gastonia.

The officers were working off duty at the nightclub and were attempting “to deescalate an affray” when the shooting began, according to the news release.

Investigators have not said what prompted the shooting. A witness told the Observer’s news partner WBTV that chaos broke out in the club and people scrambled to escape the gunfire.

“People were running around, hiding in the bathrooms,” Lamar McCorkle told the Gaston Gazette. “It’s very frustrating and, like I said before, it’s heartbreaking.”

A Charlotte couple opened Remedies in 2017 and aimed to operate it as a bar at night and a restaurant by day. The one-story building is 6,800 square feet and has a patio, the newspaper reported.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 5:36 AM with the headline "Two police officers working off duty among 6 shot at nightclub brawl in Gastonia."