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Detectives are investigating a fatal shooting outside Sunny Spot Lounge on Noble Road in Cleveland Heights.

(Evan MacDonald, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- One man died and another was injured in a shooting outside a Cleveland Heights bar that rattled residents in the neighborhood.

Dejon D. Forbes, 24, of Cleveland died at University Hospitals Case Medical Center after the shooting outside Sunny Spot Lounge on Noble Road the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office said.

The injured man arrived at the hospital while officers were there with Forbes. The second man suffered a gunshot wound to the hip and was treated and released, police said.

Several neighbors said the bar is a nuisance that has been the site of numerous disturbances.

Sunny Spot Lounge is cooperating with police and will close for several days in order to allow detectives to complete their investigation, said James Alexander, an attorney representing the bar's owners.

Patrons are searched for weapons before they enter the bar, he said.

"Nothing untoward happened inside the Sunny Spot," Alexander said. "Management is confident of that."

The bar's owners hope to work with the city of Cleveland Heights and its police department in order to prevent future disturbances outside the bar and other area bars, Alexander said.

A Euclid man was stabbed during a Feb. 16, 2014 fight inside the bar. The man suffered injuries that were not considered life threatening, police said at the time.

Officers were called to the bar on several occasions last year for reports of fights, according to police reports.

"It's an ongoing problem," neighbor Tara McKenzie said. "When they were shooting [last night], bullets could've hit over here."

One neighbor, who declined to provide his identity, said he laid flat on his floor when he heard the gunfire.

"It is out of a hand," he said. "But there's nothing I can do about it."

Neighbor Andrea James said she's noticed more disturbances in recent months. The bar's clientele has changed from an older crowd to younger patrons, she said.

"I was laying on my floor last night when I heard all those shots," she said.

Several other neighbors, who declined to be identified, defended the bar and said it is not a concern in the neighborhood.

Yet McKenzie said she was concerned enough to call Cleveland Heights City Hall to complain.

"We want to live in a neighborhood that's safe," she said.

Officers received a report of gunshots at 12:41 a.m., according to a 911 recording released Tuesday by the Cleveland Heights Police Department.

The caller told a police dispatcher she heard approximately 10 to 12 gunshots. She then heard several cars speed away from the area.

Detectives found Forbes in a car parked in a parking lot located outside the laundromat next door to the bar, police said. Cleveland Heights Fire Department paramedics took him to the hospital.

Nearly a dozen police cruisers were outside the cordoned-off bar Tuesday morning.

The investigating is still in its preliminary stages, police Chief Annette Mecklenburg said.

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