Tempe Police arrested a suspect in Friday night’s shooting at the Clubhouse Music Venue, which left 15 people injured, according to a press release.
Raynon Keswun Jones, 19, was stopped early Saturday morning at the 100 block of East Fifth Street on his way to a hospital in his black SUV with two other men who had been wounded by gunshots, according to a police report.
During a news conference Monday, Tempe Police Lt. Mike Horn said Jones and his two friends are associated with the Blood gang based out of Phoenix.
Witnesses at the shooting told police they saw Jones and the two men walking up and down the line of people going into the venue Friday night. They said Jones antagonized patrons in line before an argument ensued between Jones and rival gang members, police reported.
Horn said police are also searching for two other men from the rival gang who were seen shooting at Jones near the group of more than 300 people waiting to see the rapper Nipsy Hussle.
Police collected a 9 mm handgun from Jones’s vehicle and a different gun found near the Clubhouse by a neighborhood resident. It is unclear whether they were used at the scene, Horn said.
The 15 victims were transported and treated at four nearby hospitals during the weekend, one of which is in critical condition and expected to recover, Horn said.
The victims’ ages range from 17 to 43 years old, Horn said, with five females and 10 males.
Horn said many of the victims do not want to aid in prosecution, fearing gang retaliation.
On Friday night, a Tempe Police officer responded to a disturbance call at a 7-Eleven in the same complex as the Clubhouse. When the officer arrived at 11:29 p.m., he heard the gunshots go off and saw the crowd run in different directions, Horn said.
Jones told police he was at the concert when the shots went off but was not involved, according to the report.
After Jones’s arrest, one victim positively identified him as one of the shooters, police reported.
According to some accounts by witnesses, people refused to be patted down by security, which is protocol for the venue, Horn said.
Tempe Police is going to conduct a second investigation into the Clubhouse’s standards with its concert security, he said.
Police are asking the public to assist in the apprehension of the other two men who are black and were last seen wearing dark clothing, Horn said. Anyone with information regarding the incident can call the Tempe Police Department at (480) 350-8311.
Reach the reporter at sraymund@asu.edu
Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
