After five people were shot Saturday amid a barrage of bullets at the Stargate nightclub, the Maplewood mayor has called for a special city council meeting this week to consider possible sanctions against the business.

The special meeting will be held at 8 a.m. Wednesday to “review the incident and consider possible sanctions and/or conditions of the license of the nightclub,” Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell said Sunday night.

No arrests had been made as of Sunday night, but earlier Schnell had said, “We’re closer to identifying persons of interest.”

Schnell said the first shots were fired inside the club around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

“We don’t really know what prompted it,” he said. “There was some argument, and one man was shot in the club. People began to run out, and as they ran out, other people began shooting.”

Schnell said because of a recent uptick in calls to the club and security issues, two Maplewood police officers were in the parking lot when the shooting happened. As people spilled out into the parking lot, a “barrage of gunfire” erupted.

“There were casings across the entire parking lot. There was a car crash with one of the vehicles that had left,” Schnell said. “There was just a lot going on — very chaotic.”

Ultimately, five people, including the man shot in the club, were injured.

Schnell said none of the injuries were life-threatening, and none of the wounded were transported by ambulance.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Schnell said

A “huge” law enforcement response drew officers from the State Patrol, Ramsey County, Maplewood and Roseville.

“Following what happened in Florida, there’s a heightened sense or heightened awareness of what the dangers are,” Schnell said, referencing the June 12, 2016, shooting that left 49 dead at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. “You just don’t know — you just don’t know what you’re going to find.”

St. Paul city councilwoman Amy Brendmoen, whose ward borders Stargate Nightclub, said the establishment is keeping the area from prospering.

Related Articles Fire at Maplewood apartment complex displaces 67 residents and injures one

Maplewood authorities ask public for help to ID assault suspects

Popular Fright Farm Haunted House closes after Ramsey County makes changes to historic barn

Maplewood father who authorities say assaulted 2-month-old son pleads not guilty

A Maplewood police officer got a slobbery thank you from a dog he rescued in 2019 “The behavior associated with the Stargate has been a long-standing problem for St. Paul, Roseville and Maplewood,” Brendmoen said in a statement issued to the Pioneer Press. “Hundreds of neighbors from each of these cities are currently rallying to create a vision and path for this unique multi-jurisdictional intersection. Poorly managed properties like this one are holding us back. I’m pleased that the Maplewood PD is taking a strong stand and helping us move forward toward a safer, more vibrant neighborhood center.”

In the past few years, the club has been the site of violent disturbances. In May 2015, a 20-year-old man was fatally shot by a private security guard in Stargate’s parking lot after a group of five men allegedly assaulted the security guard. In April 2011, a 21-year-old man slashed three other men with a box cutter, again in the club’s parking lot.