The New York City Police Department has launched a manhunt for the suspected killer of a 30-year-old Nigerian, Sheriff Shittu, who was shot dead at a nightclub in the East Flatbush area of Brooklyn.
The development comes as the victim’s family intensifies calls for justice over the killing.
It was learnt on Sunday that Shittu was gunned down in the early hours of February 14 inside Quilox Lounge.
According to a report by Gothamist, operated by the New York Public Radio, police are searching for a man who shot and killed another patron at a Brooklyn nightclub on Valentine’s Day.
The NYPD officials said the shooting followed a dispute at the club on Church Avenue near East 95th Street in East Flatbush at about 4:30 a.m. on Saturday.
An NYPD official was quoted as saying that the Nigerian victim was shot in the head and later pronounced dead at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Centre.
“Police said they are still investigating a motive for the shooting and do not yet have details about the argument between the men,” the report stated.
It added that the suspect was last seen wearing a black jacket and white trousers before fleeing the scene in an unknown direction.
The report further noted that Shittu was the first gun-violence fatality recorded in the precinct this year, where five people had been shot as of February 15, 2025, based on available data.
Meanwhile, News 12 Brooklyn reported that Shittu’s brothers described him as a kind-hearted man who hoped to make his mark in the fashion industry.
“We’re just feeling sad, and everybody is holding it in. We’re trying to be strong right now, but we’re really worried about getting justice for him,” his younger brother, Salem Shittu, said.
Sheriff and his brother were said to have attended a birthday celebration at the nightclub when an argument between the victim and another patron escalated.
“We don’t know why the security failed to properly search before somebody brought a gun into the club,” Salem added.
“He was being kicked out and was being escorted out when he did it.”
For the Shittu family, the loss has left a deep void, with justice now their only source of solace.
The killing came barely a week after another Nigerian, Khaleed Oladipo, a 20-year-old student of De Montfort University, was stabbed to death in a street attack in Leicester.
Oladipo was reportedly attacked outside a busy university building while heading home to watch the semi-final of the EFL Cup between Arsenal F.C. and Chelsea F.C.