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U.S. Embassy Officials Wounded In Caracas Nightclub Shooting

Two U.S. officials were shot during an altercation at a strip club in the Venezuelan capital, but a State Department spokesman says their injuries were not life-threatening.

The incident occurred early Tuesday. As The Associated Press reports:

"The circumstances of the shooting were unclear, with conflicting reports over whether it happened inside or outside the Antonella 2012 nightclub.

Police said the two U.S. officials were shot following a brawl inside the club, which is in the basement of a shopping center in the upper-middle-class Chacao neighborhood."

"Apparently it was a fight originating in a nightspot where these people were attacked and shots were fired at them and they suffered gunshot wounds," police spokesman Douglas Rico told TV channel Globovision at the health clinic where the victims were taken. He said one was shot in the leg and abdomen and the other was shot in the abdomen, according to the AP.

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell told reporters on Tuesday that the shootings occurred at "some sort of social spot."

Asked to elaborate, Ventrell said he wasn't sure if it was "a restaurant or a nightclub or what the actual establishment was."

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Scott Neuman is a reporter and editor, working mainly on breaking news for NPR's digital and radio platforms.

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