SCRANTON, Pa. -- A judge has ordered an after-hours club in Scranton to shut down after a deadly shooting outside the club last weekend. The Castle Club could be forced to stay closed for up to a year.
A man was killed, and two others injured in a shooting on North Main Avenue early Sunday morning. police connect the violence to the club inside the old Castle restaurant.
The district attorney and other business owners in this neighborhood say the shooting was the final straw.
The Castle after-hours club on North Main Avenue will not open for the scheduled event advertised on its front door.
"I always said that it's going to take something drastic to close it, and you know, it's happened," said Jim Lyons.
Jim Lyons, who owns Dee Jay's Deli across the street, has been waiting for this news a Lackawanna County judge has ordered the club to close, at least until a hearing later this month, but possibly as long as a year.
"Everyone knows that it's long overdue, and we're glad that they're looking into it. We're sad that it's taken a death to have it occur," said Lyons.
Around 5 a.m. Sunday, just after the club had closed, police say at least two shooters opened fire. Two men were injured and Parker Palermo, 20, of Scranton, was killed.
Police know the identity of one of the shooters, but no arrests have been made.
"Hopefully they catch him and everything, and they, you know, find out why it happened. Nobody can understand it," said Mary Ann Mead.
Mary Ann Mead and her husband own Main Street Music. Mead says the neighborhood full of local small businesses has been negatively affected by repeated violence at the castle.
Several business owners were cited in an emergency injunction filed by the Lackawanna County district attorney's office. Owners said that because of activity around the Castle, they changed their hours and increased security out of fear for their safety.
"I'm glad that they're going to do it. We thought it was going to be a lot earlier that what it is. But, it's too bad it wasn't because someone was killed, you know? That was terrible," Mead said.
A hearing later this month will determine just how long the club will have to remain closed, but legally, it can only be shut down for a year at most.
"I remember when it was the Castle, when it was the number one restaurant in Scranton. And it was really nice. It's too bad they can't do something with it and bring it back, bring something back that's good that people would enjoy."
We have reached out to the castle's owner, Nasser Mohammadzad, several times but have not heard back.
One of his employees told us that they have voluntarily decided to close.
The district attorney expects the hearing about the Castle's future to happen sometime after Memorial Day.