Lisa Botello is expressing extreme frustration at Reno PD for not moving fast enough in arresting a suspect seen shooting her 23-year-old daughter wearing a pink top, as seen in a video released on local social media and shared with us, just outside the recently opened Two One Nine club in downtown Reno early Sunday morning.
Botello says her daughter rushed to protect her friend, who was seen in an altercation with the suspect who had already pulled out a gun, when the shot was fired. Several videos circulated on social media show two shots being fired.
“We’re actively investigating this,” Chris Johnson from Reno PD told Our Town Reno today, before asking us to send him an email with specific questions.
In a follow up Thursday afternoon he wrote: "We take crimes like this very seriously, and we understand the frustration that comes with waiting during the investigative process. Investigations like this take time to ensure that every step is thorough, and the process is handled correctly for successful prosecution. We have identified the suspect in this case, and our Officers are actively working on their arrest. The safety of the community and arresting the suspect in this case is a top priority.”
Witnesses say the suspected shooter displayed threatening behavior with the gun after the shooting as well.
A message we sent to the clubtwoonenine Instagram account was not responded to, but they sent a message in a story previously to the community indicating “we do not condone or tolerate any form of violence.”
The Eden club at the same location was previously suspended last year due to Reno PD reporting code violations and increased crime nearby before remodeling and reopening with a new name.
In his follow up message, concerning the club, Johnson indicated: “Please refer to Business Licensing for information regarding the current status of Club 219."
Botello says she will be looking for legal help, with plans to sue the club for failing to have proper security.
She says her daughter who jumped in as soon as she saw the gun to protect her friend, got a bruised lung, fractured ribs, that she can barely walk, that she’s lost her appetite and that a fragment of the bullet is still in her.
“It could have been so much worse,” Botello said in our interview. “I could be planning my daughter's funeral instead of trying to get her to walk.”