More than two dozen gunshots were fired in the parking lot of a Waterbury strip club early Saturday morning in one of the largest-scale shootings ever in the city.

Police said on Monday that this is at least the third serious problem at the club in recent months and city officials want it shut down.

"We're not going to allow it to continue to operate like this," said Deputy Chief Christopher Corbett.

Three people suffered minor gunshot wounds in the early Saturday morning melee outside Pandora's Cabaret, a strip club on Washington Avenue, Corbett said.

Two men were shot in the ankle and another was shot in the hip. About 150 people were in the bar when a fight broke out shortly after 4 a.m.

Bouncers pushed the fight into the parking lot, where the shots were fired. Some of the bullets pierced car windows.

Corbett called the incident "unprecedented."

The shooters had fled before police arrived, but investigators are following leads.

Police have obtained an arrest warrant and are looking for 32-year-old Javier Vasquez, who detectives believe instigated the fight, opening fire by the club's front door.

Vasquez will face gun possession and attempted assault assault charges.



Police found 29 shell casings in the parking lot and said at least three guns were used. Two of the victims took off in a car that flipped several times about a block away.

Investigators believe drugs and alcohol were contributing factors, and that several people involved in the incident were thrown out of the club the previous night.

The owner of the strip club had not returned a request for comment at the time of publication.