Homicide Investigation Closes Tavern in Buffalo, New York

Del Denby Tavern on Hertel Avenue forced to close as police investigate homicide.

A 46-year-old man was shot and subsequently died following a fight at Del Denby Tavern on Hertel Avenue early Tuesday morning.

UPDATE: The victim's name is Madjid Elbert of Buffalo.

The bar has been ordered closed “in preservation of peace and good order,” according to a notice posted on the bar’s door.

Buffalo Police on Tuesday afternoon suggested the victim knew the person who shot him, but they did not provide information on how they knew each other or release the name of a suspect.

The casual bar on Hertel Avenue near the intersection with Parkside Avenue, in a busy stretch of the neighborhood near a handful of other bars and restaurants, did not have a security guard working on the premises Monday night, police say.

The incident reportedly began with a fight between the victim and his shooter on the bar’s front patio, along Hertel Avenue. Buffalo Police Chief of Detectives Craig Macy said during a press conference there is “a lot of digital evidence that has been recovered, not only from private cameras but from the city’s camera on the corner” of Hertel and Parkside avenues. While the police believe the shooter and victim knew each other and had spent some time together during the evening before getting into a fight outside the bar, Detective Macy would not say whether the police knew the name of the suspected shooter Tuesday afternoon.

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He also stressed that, as evidenced by a series of violent events last weekend, “these incidents can happen anywhere in the city,” but confirmed that there had been prior violent activity at this bar, including a previous shooting incident several years ago. One local outlet reports a man was hospitalized after being shot at Del Denby Tavern in June 2021 after a large fight; other establishments also have been closed by Buffalo Police following violent incidents including Club Marcella in December after four shootings, including one fatality, in less than a year.

It was not immediately clear when the bar will be allowed to reopen. Police are still working to identify and interview witnesses from the incident.