By Stephanie Taylor / Staff Writer

EUTAW, AL – A party hosted by a biker club in Eutaw turned deadly during the early morning hours Sunday when gunfire erupted in the parking lot. One man was killed and four others were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

Mandel L. Pearson, 36, was fatally shot outside the National Guard Armory on Mesopotamia Street at 1:21 a.m. Sunday, Eutaw Police Chief Derick Coleman told WVTM-13. Another victim who suffered minor injuries was an off-duty Greene County Sheriff’s deputy working as a security guard at the event. The identities of the other victims have not been released. Law enforcement agents were interviewing several witnesses but had made no arrests as of Sunday afternoon.

Investigators recovered about 100 shell casings in the parking lot of the armory where the Sin City Deciples motorcycle club held an event Saturday night. The Alabama Bureau of Investigation is assisting the Greene County Sheriff’s Office and Eutaw Police Department with the investigation. The Greene County Independent posted a video of a press conference held Sunday afternoon.

Two of the four surviving victims suffered life-threatening injuries and were airlifted to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, ABI spokesman Special Agent Jason Ward said. The others suffered injuries that weren’t life-threatening and were transported to DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa.

Ward said it was still unclear Sunday afternoon what led to the shooting. Information released was limited, he said, because the investigation is still in the early stages. Residents have no reason to fear for their safety, he said.

“People should feel safe; we are conducting an investigation, and I have full confidence in the sheriff’s office and also the police department here in Eutaw,” he said.

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