A flashback to the days of the old Combat Zone occurred yesterday as a fight broke out inside one of downtown Boston’s few remaining strip clubs, leading to a burst of gunfire and leaving two men seriously wounded.
Steven Gayle, 35, pleaded not guilty during his arraignment yesterday and was ordered held on $250,000 bail. He faces charges including armed assault with intent to murder.
Two men were shot and seriously injured when Gayle allegedly opened fire inside the club.
Gayle tried to flee after the shots rang out inside the LaGrange Street club just before 2:30 a.m., police said.
At that time, a doorman pointed him out to a police officer working a detail outside the club. The officer, along with an off-duty officer in the area, followed Gayle and ordered him to put down the gun, authorities said.
“Gayle appeared to be holding something in his right hand, and the officer instructed him to ‘Let me see your hands,'” the Suffolk district attorney’s office said in a statement. “Gayle followed that command and placed the weapon — with its hammer still cocked and ready to fire — on the ground.”
Police secured the gun and found 16 rounds of ammunition in a backpack Gayle was wearing, authorities said.
One of the victims, a 28-year-old man, was being treated as Massachusetts General Hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening. A 31-year-old man was in critical condition at Tufts Medical Center.
Officials and lawyers said that Gayle and the men became involved in a fight when the men sat down at a booth Gayle was already seated at, according to the Globe.
Gayle’s lawyer said he was the victim of aggression, according to the Globe.
The suspect
Gayle is the owner of The Game Room, a Jamaica Plain video game parlor.
A biography about Gayle posted on the business’ website said he previously survived a shooting and has since been on disability.
He said he is a single father of two children.
“The money I am receiving is not enough to raise my children, pay my bills, and take care of myself, much less start a business,” he wrote.
