Gay Man Paralyzed in Shooting at North Carolina Nightclub

Police in Asheville, N.C., are offering a reward of up $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in a shooting at a gay-friendly nightclub that left a visitor from Los Angeles paralyzed.

Someone fired shots from a car into a crowd leaving Scandals Nightclub and two other clubs located in the same building as the venues were closing about 2 a.m. on October 7, the Asheville Citizen Times reports. Pedro Ventura, who was visiting from Los Angeles for a wedding, was hit by a bullet that shattered his spine and injured his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed from the shoulders down, his partner, Ezra Glenn, told the paper this week.

Ventura was waiting for an Uber when the shots were fired, Glenn said. He was initially taken to a hospital in Asheville but has now been moved to a facility in another state that specializes in spinal injuries. He is breathing with the assistance of a ventilator, but his condition is improving and doctors hope he will be able to breathe on his own soon. The ventilator interferes with his ability to speak, but he is communicating through body language.

"He's mentally very much there, which we're happy about," Glenn told the Citizen Times Monday. Glenn wasn't in Asheville the night of the shooting, and he said he doesn't think the shooter intended to harm Ventura specifically, as Ventura wasn't acquainted with many people in the area.

Ventura is an immigrant from the Dominican Republic who came to New York as a child and has worked in the music industry in Miami and Los Angeles. He appears to be the only person injured in the shooting, in which as many as 10 shots were fired into the crowd and damaged a nearby car. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with his medical expenses.

Scandals is described online as a "gay-friendly" nightclub that is well-known for its drag shows. Police have yet to make an arrest in the shooting, so it's unknown if there was any anti-LGBTQ motivation. Asheville has a reputation as progressive; it is home to a campus of the University of North Carolina and a thriving arts scene.

Police announced the reward Tuesday. They ask that anyone with information call the Asheville Police Department at (828) 252-1000 or Asheville-Buncombe Crime Stoppers at (828) 255-5050.