An immigrant aspiring fashion designer shot in the head at a Brooklyn nightclub was killed by a stray bullet fired by a drunk patron angry over being confronted by bouncers for groping women at the bar, the victim’s brother says.
Sheriff Shittu, 30, was killed when a gunman opened fire inside Quilox Restaurant and Lounge in East Flatbush on Church Ave. near 95th St. about 4:25 a.m. Saturday, cops said. Police could not immediately confirm Shittu was an innocent bystander.
Shittu was accompanied to the club by his younger brother, Fawaz Shittu, to celebrate a friend’s birthday a day before their mother was due to arrive by plane for a visit.
“I was screaming his name,” Fawaz said, recalling the aftermath of the shooting that killed his brother. “I was trying to wake him up.”
They had only been at the club for about 45 minutes and were already in the process of leaving when the gunman fired off a round, Fawaz said.
The killer was in a drunken argument with bouncers after being scolded for putting his hands on women, according to the brother.
“The owner was saying, ‘Don’t mind that person — he’s a crazy guy’,” Fawaz recounted. “A few seconds later, I heard ‘pow’ and I looked down and I saw my brother.”
A bartender rushed to perform CPR on Sheriff, who lay motionless on the floor, Fawaz said.
The gunman ran off and has not been caught.
“He was able to escape,” Fawaz said of the killer. “I don’t know how that happened or how he got the gun in the club. Security didn’t do it’s job. They didn’t search. You’re supposed to check people and their bags.”
Medics rushed Sheriff to Brookdale University Hospital, where he later died, police said. But the victim’s family has kept him on life support hoping for a miracle.
“He has been pronounced dead, but we’re still hoping,” said Salem Shittu, 24, another of the victim’s brothers. “We’re holding out with our faith in God.”
“He was a very sweet person, very outgoing,” Salem added. “He was protective of his family, his friends and his loved ones.”
The victim was shot the day before his 60-year-old mother, Foluke Shittu, arrived on a pre-planned trip to visit her sons’ home in Far Rockaway, Queens. She learned of Sheriff’s fate only after her plane touched down.
“My son was a very kind person,” Foluke said. “I love him. We spoke on Friday and I arrived on Sunday. That’s when they told me.”
Sheriff immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in 2018. He worked as a security guard while creating his own fledgling fashion label, called Riff Ent.
“We’re going to keep pushing his brand,” said his brother Salem. “We’re just trying make a way for one another.”
Just as the family hopes God will restore life to Sheriff, they’re praying his killer is brought to justice.
“We want him to get life in prison, the maximum sentence,” said Salem. “If there’s a death penalty in New York, use that.”
