David Leroy Smith Jr.

A shooting at a nightclub early Friday killed one man and injured at least three others in north St. Louis. So many shots were fired at Sweet Timez on Martin Luther King Drive that police initially worried more people could be hurt that officers weren't aware of — and show up on their own at hospitals. David Leroy Smith Jr. died at the scene after being shot more than once. Smith, 40, lived in the 7500 block of Balfour Drive in Hanley Hills. The shooting was just before 3 a.m. Friday at 5166 Martin Luther King Drive. A sign outside the club reads Sweet Timez. The club is on the northern edge of the city's Academy neighborhood, near Wellston. Police haven't released a description of any suspect or suspects, or said what sparked the fight that spilled outside the club. A 30-year-old man who witnessed the killing told the Post-Dispatch he was attending an event at the club. The event started at midnight and included some birthday celebrations. There was a fight inside the club near the front door. The witness said he went to the DJ stand to use the microphone, asking people to leave the club. That's when he heard two shots inside the club, killing the man. "I definitely saw him die," the witness said in an interview. "It was a beef, a certain situation, and they just wanted to have this person dead." With that, people were scared and darted to their own cars, grabbing guns, the witness told the newspaper. More shots rang out outside, he said. One of the injured men had been outside all along, on the street and apparently had no connection to the club or the fight, the witness said. "It was multiple people with multiple guns," he added.