FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The gunman who fatally shot a man last week at the Blue Martini at the Galleria mall in Fort Lauderdale was identified by police as Andre Clark, 52, a retired DEA agent.
Fort Lauderdale police Maj. Frank Sousa said authorities are working on obtaining a statement about the shooting from Clark and will then present their information to the Broward County State Attorney's Office, which will decide whether to file criminal charges in the case.
Police said the shooting occurred late in the night of May 8.
A man, identified as Arnold Person, 43, of Miami, was pronounced dead at the scene just minutes before his birthday. Two others were taken to Broward Health Medical Center -- Clark and Person's brother-in-law, Andrew Cooks.
According to the Cochran Firm, which is representing Person and Cooks' relatives, Cooks was released from the hospital this week.
Person and Cooks' relatives, along with their attorney, Marwan Porter, addressed the media Thursday. They are calling for Clark to be held accountable for the shooting by being criminally charged.
"One gunshot, OK, but the many gunshots he did was unfair and unright," sister Natasha Cooks said. "I feel like you wanted murder from day one."
Police said an altercation inside the bar led to the shooting, but it's unclear what led to the initial altercation.
"We was all there and don't really know what happened. All we know was it was a bump and here we go and now we have a shooting," the victim's brother, Anthony Person, said.
Attorney Jeffrey A. Neiman, of Marcus Neiman & Rashbaum LLP, released a statement Thursday in support Clark, who has hired the law firm to represent him.
"The early accounts of what happened that night are not accurate," the statement read. "No arrests were made on the scene, and for good reason. When the dust settles, it will be clear that Andre was not the aggressor and that he acted in self-defense."