ELYRIA – Another shooting in the downtown area has police considering whether to try to close down the Toy Box Night Club.

The Broad Street bar, which on May 8 was the place where three teenagers were shot, is being linked to another shooting. This time, police say two teen males were sent to the hospital with gunshots. According to Elyria police, both were shot in or near the bar early Friday.

Officers were called to the bar a little after 2 a.m. for a report of shots fired and arrived to find two people who had been shot in their legs.

Robert Beane, 19, of Lorain, was taken to EMH Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Marlon Capers, 17, was grazed by a bullet and was taken to Community Health Partners in Lorain. His condition was not available.

A police report details the chaotic aftermath of the incident. It was written by an officer who was in the area of Sports Bar and Toy Box on Broad Street and heard “numerous gunshots being rapidly fired from the area.”

The “officer observed large amounts of unknown subjects running from the area in several directions,” the report said.

Also according to the report, “There were numerous vehicles fleeing the area at high rates of speed in several directions.”

Police stopped a red pickup truck that was taking Beane to the hospital. The vehicle, driven by Kereem Tucker, 24, of Lorain, was found to contain crack cocaine, Elyria police Capt. Dan Jaykel said.

He also said another passenger, Matthew Bell, 24, of Elyria, was arrested on a weapons charge after a handgun fell from his pants. Jaykel said it wasn’t clear whether these individuals were involved in the shooting.

Officers also arrested Marquise Hollis on a warrant out of the Sandusky Police Department. Hollis was taken to the Elyria City Jail to be picked up by Sandusky.

Still, finding out what happened prior to the shooting was proving to be difficult for police.

According to the report, officers pounded on the door to Toy Box for several minutes before being allowed into the locked door and found the staff had swept and washed the floor and cleaned the bathroom. The staff said they did not know about a shooting.

Police said a similar scenario played out months prior when two Elyria teenagers and one Lorain teenager were shot inside the Toy Box Night Club by an unknown assailant who fired seven shots from a .25-caliber handgun inside the bar. The entrance was locked when officers arrived and they had to knock to be let in by bar staff, according to a police report.

“Basically, we don’t get a lot of cooperation from them,” Police Chief Duane Whitely said. “But one thing we know is there are a lot of issues that happen right outside the Toy Box. We now have to find out how much is directly related to the Toy Box.”

Whitely said his office is looking into whether the bar should be considered a nuisance and steps taken to shut it down.

“Shutting down a bar is not easy to do, but we have done it before with other places so we know it can be done,” he said.

Contact Rona Proudfoot at 329-7124 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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