Muzik nightclub says it did have working security cameras on the night of two fatal shootings last week, in response to a comment from the mayor about a lack of surveillance footage.
A spokesperson for Muzik says cameras were operating at the downtown club where two people were fatally shot, but wouldn’t say if there were cameras in the pool area where the one of the shootings occurred.
Earlier on Thursday, Mayor John Tory said it was “his understanding” that there were no security cameras installed at Muzik, and added that the club’s lease does not require them.
Tory's comments came more than a week after two people died when gunfire erupted as the OVO Fest after-party wrapped up.
Muzik nightclub released a statement Thursday confirming that it had cameras and is “fully cooperating with the police investigation.”
“It is up to the police to determine what footage from those cameras is useful to them, and what, if anything, will be made public,” the statement said.
Representatives from the nightclub have said previously that there were 73 security guards and 10 paid duty police officers present at the venue when the shots rang out.
Duvel Hibbert, 23, was fatally shot in the outdoor pool area of the club at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 4. A short time later, 26-year-old Ariela Navarro-Fenoy was killed in what police have called a related shooting just north of the club. Two men were seriously wounded and a woman suffered minor injuries in the incident.
Hibbert's family announced Thursday morning that they had hired a lawyer to help them discover more about the circumstances that led to his death.
"The family is hoping some good can come of this tragedy," lawyer Michael Smitiuch said in a statement Thursday.
"The onus should be on Muzik and the City's licensing services to make sure there's adequate security, especially when the club is crowded. Clearly people's lives depend on it."
