Deputy and civilian shot, injured outside nightclub

The Marion County Sheriff’s office is currently investigating a shooting that occurred at an east Marion County nightclub early Sunday morning [Andy Fillmore/Ocala Gazette] 2023.

A Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a civilian were shot and injured early Sunday as patrons left an east Marion County nightclub after closing, according to an MCSO Facebook post.

The shooting took place in the vicinity of Time Night Club at 9355 SE Maricamp Rd. around 2:15 a.m., the MCSO post states.

The deputy and civilian were transported to a local hospital, where the deputy had surgery. Both are “expected to fully recover,” according to a video update from Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods at 10 a.m. Sunday.

Woods asked for prayers for the shooting victims and their families in the video.

Deputies were in the parking lot of the club  “conducting securities” when the shooting took place and about 100 people were present, Woods said.

The connected parking lots of Shores Plaza, where the club is located, and the Springs Plaza next door were cordoned off with yellow crime tape as deputies investigated the scene Sunday morning.

A woman at a nearby business said the current nightclub has been in operation for about four months and there was a different club in the same location previously.

Moe Fattah, co-owner of Time Night Club with his brother, described the club’s security measures to the Gazette in a phone interview.

Fattah said measures including a metal detector secure the inside of the club.

“(We have) airport security (metal detectors) and top-line security equipment,” Fattah said.

He said he has been hiring off-duty law enforcement as a security measure and had one off-duty officer Saturday night. The injured deputy was not the hired security.

Fattah described the crowd present the night of the shooting as “quiet” and “happy,” and said the shooting was a “random act.”

He said the shooting was in an adjacent area in the neighboring shopping plaza. The two adjoining plazas are interconnected by paved areas.

Woods said in the update that the target and the shooter remain unknown but someone in the crowd “saw, heard or knows something,” and he hoped someone would have the courage to provide information they might have about the shooting.

Woods called the shooter a “coward” who likely wouldn’t come forward and promised to use all the resources of MCSO to find the person.

Woods asked anyone with information to call (352) 732-9111 or call CrimeStoppers of Marion County at (352) 368-STOP (7867) to remain anonymous.

Woods also made a statement addressed directly to the shooter.

“I will hunt you down and I will bring you to justice…make it easy on yourself and come forward,” Woods said in the video.