In the wake of a shooting that left a 27-year-old man dead and two women injured, police in New Bedford ordered the closure of an Acushnet Avenue lounge that has been the site of violence in the city.
The shooting occurred around 1:21 a.m. on Saturday, when prosecutors say 19-year-old Danielson Varela opened fire inside Morna Lounge and Grill at 1621 Acushnet Ave. It wasn't the first time violence had erupted near the restaurant: last year, 44-year-old Aaron Britto was found shot in between the Acushnet Avenue lounge and a home on Earle Street in August. Britto died at a hospital.
Anthony Jalo, 21, is charged with killing Britto. Prosecutors say he stole a chain necklace from Britto after shooting him, WJAR reported.
Since Morna Lounge opened in 2021, its owner has been called before New Bedford's Licensing Board five times for incidents on 13 different nights. Those violations, which include a 2022 stabbing, have led to probations and suspensions for the lounge, Police Chief Paul Oliveira wrote in a letter sent to the lounge's owner.
Oliveira blasted the lounge's owner, Mateus Jose Barbosa, for allowing the 19-year-old Varela into the lounge twice that night despite the fact that he is underage. One of the women wounded in the shooting is also 19, Oliveira wrote.
"The alleged shooter was a 19-year-old underage minor who should not have been on the premises," the letter reads. "Despite his age, your 'security' admitted him on two separate occasions that night."
In the past, the Licensing Board has modified the lounge's hours and barred it from hosting entertainment, Oliveira wrote. Prior to the most recent shooting, Barbosa had agreed to voluntarily close the lounge at 1:30 a.m. each night. He has also hired what Oliveira described as "private security."
Yet violence has continued.
"Based upon the history of prior incidents and the recent shooting on Saturday at the premises, in the interest of public safety and to ensure there is no retaliation stemming from Saturday's shootings you are ordered to cease operation of the Morna Lounge and Grill at the premises," Oliveira wrote.