Victims, age 51 and 23, gunned down outside Sacto by Night club identified by family and friends

An owner of a popular south Sacramento nightclub said his business partner shot to death outside the establishment Sunday was a loving father and husband whose death has shocked them all.

Alleged gang members opened gunfire outside Sacto By Night lounge, 7121 Governors Circle, after getting into a fight as the club was closing, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office has said. Two men died at the scene, and deputies haven’t yet announced any arrests.

Jerome Nansel, an owner, identified one victim as Binh Do, 51, of Sacramento. They were good family friends turned business partners, Nansel said.

“It’s terrible,” Nansel said of the incident.

Do’s primary motivation to help establish the nightclub stemmed from wanting to make his wife happy by creating a place she could sing — she is an excellent vocalist and loves to sing, Nansel said. The loving father poured hard work into the establishment and spent over a year remodeling the place, Nansel added.

“I was shocked,” Nansel said of hearing about Do’s death.

Business records filed with the state list Do as Sacto By Night’s chief financial officer.

The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office hasn’t yet released the identities of the victims but family members identified the other victim as Ryu Kai Her, 23, and told KCRA that he was an employee of the Stockton Unified School District.

Her’s mother, Mee Yang, told KCRA on Monday night that her son was “at the wrong place at the wrong time” when the shooting occurred.

Sheriff’s deputies were called at about 1:45 a.m. to reports of a shooting in the unincorporated Parkway neighborhood. The bar was celebrating Hmong New Year on Saturday and offered 20% off on all bottle services, according to social media posts.

Patrons had all exited the club when a fight erupted, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Archived radio dispatches say that a sheriff’s deputy saw a man firing two shots into a crowd and then escaping in a vehicle.

Deputies believe at least one man shot into the crowd, the news release said. About 40 people remained at the scene as deputies canvassed the area for evidence, according to radio dispatches.

Witnesses said a white vehicle drove away from the scene, deputies said. There were four people inside the vehicle who were detained and being questioned, the news release said.

The Sheriff’s Office said it would release the suspect or suspects’ names after they had been charged.

Sacto By Night lounge said on social media that the shooting didn’t happen on its property and it remains open. The venue’s events will resume Wednesday.

But with the loss of a family friend, Nansel is left picking up the pieces and isn’t sure what the future holds.