Skip to main content
Cloudy icon
77º

Suspect arrested following double shooting outside Fort Lauderdale bar

(Broward Sheriff's Office/WPLG)

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A suspect was arrested Wednesday, two days after a double shooting that occurred outside a Fort Lauderdale bar that has a violent history.

Jorge Andres Varona Suarez, 36, faces a charge of attempted felony murder.

Recommended Videos



Surveillance video from Yes Pawn from just after 7 a.m. Monday appears to show the moments leading up to the shooting outside the Band House, located at 801 NE 62 St., just west of the intersection of East Cypress Creek Road and Northeast Ninth Avenue.

Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue personnel found the two men injured and took them to North Broward Hospital. One was shot in the head and the other in the chest, according to police scanner traffic. They were both listed in critical condition.

In 2021, the residents of the neighboring Cypress Creek Mobile Home Country Club complained about crime at the property.

The venue, formerly called Take 1 Lounge and Jesters Sports Bar before that, had been the source of dozens of police calls for service. It also had a history of code violations, including operating as a strip club without a license.

Records show officers have been called to the address numerous times over the past year alone.

Neighbors say they want police to investigate why this property has a history of violence and what can be done to keep them safe.

Further details about what led up to Monday’s shooting have not yet been released.

As of Thursday afternoon, Varona Suarez was being held at the Broward Main Jail without bond and on an immigration hold.


About the Authors
Amanda Batchelor headshot

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.

Christina Vazquez headshot

Christina returned to Local 10 in 2019 as a reporter after covering Hurricane Dorian for the station. She is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist and previously earned an Emmy Award while at WPLG for her investigative consumer protection segment "Call Christina."

Loading...

Recommended Videos