Police on the scene of a suspected drive-by shooting outside Tup Tup Palace

Police on the scene of a suspected drive-by shooting outside Tup Tup Palace

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A doorman has been shot in a drive by shooting outside Tup Tup Palace nightclub in Newcastle.

Witnesses described seeing a black-clad motorcycle rider pull up outside the club at around 10.45pm on Saturday and open fire.

It is believed a doorman working at the club on St Nicholas’ Street in Newcastle city centre was hit in the arm.

He was seen to walk with his black jacket over the wound, a blood soaked white shirt hanging from the waistband of his trousers, to an ambulance.

The area surrounding Tup Tup Palace, next to St Nicholas Cathedral, was cordoned off by police investigators on Saturday night.

An eyewitness from Gateshead was out for a late night bike ride with a friend when he saw what happened.

He said: “My mate had gone into Subway to grab a coffee and I was waiting with my bike outside St Nicholas Cathedral, pretty much directly opposite the club.

“I saw a black motorbike pull up outside the coffee shop next door, La Maschera; right by where the kerb comes in for the parking spaces.

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“It was a big bike, black all over and with what looked like a body kit on it so that you could not see its marking. But I could see it was a powerful sports bike; a Ducati or something like that.

“The rider was dressed all in black too - black helmet, visor, leather jacket, motorbike boots and blue jeans.

“It looked quite suspicious because he put his foot down and looked around; he stared right at me for a second.

“Then he started pushing at the handlebars of the bike as if it had stalled and he was tring to get it to start.

“I thought he had stalled.

“There was about 50 people queued up outside the club.

“The bike moved slowly towards Tup Tup and he was just past the kerb when there was a massive bang.

“I knew it was a gunshot. I used to go shooting with my family and it sounded to me not like a shotgun, but like a big handgun.

“I was on the mobile to my girlfriend and she said ‘What the Hell was that’?

“I thought for a second it was the motorbike backfiring.

“The people outside Tup Tup did not react. but some girls in party dresses stood next to me started to scream.”