City Nightclub 330 Ritch Shuts Down Following Shooting

A nightclub in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood where three people were shot early Saturday morning is closing for good, the executive director of the city's Entertainment Commission said today.

All three victims are expected to survive the shooting, which occurred around 1:30 a.m. Saturday at 330 Ritch, a club on Ritch Street, a small alleyway off of Brannan Street, police said.

However, the owners of the club have decided that they will no longer seek to run a business there, and surrendered their entertainment permit to the city on Monday, Entertainment Commission executive director Jocelyn Kane said Tuesday.

The owners of 330 Ritch did not respond to calls for comment. Police spokesman Officer Carlos Manfredi said the initial shooting occurred inside the club after an argument and that more shots were fired just outside the club and in a nearby parking lot.

The victims, a man in his 30s and two men in their 20s, were taken to the hospital.

The man in his 30s was initially believed to have life-threatening injuries but is now expected to survive, Manfredi said. No arrests have been made in the case and no suspect information was immediately available.

However, the Police Department has assigned an officer specializing in video surveillance to review security footage taken in the area to try to find leads in the case, Manfredi said. Mayor Ed Lee commented on the incident Monday, saying nightclubs have to do a better job of keeping patrons safe.

"The entertainment industry is trying to have dialogue with me about more night entertainment," Lee said. "Well if the nightclubs don't keep it up so we prevent this type of thing, then we won't have a positive response from the city."

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