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Victim in Chelsea Nightclub Shooting is a Convicted Killer

By Mathew Katz | November 16, 2011 5:48pm | Updated on November 17, 2011 12:18pm
Police sources the victim in a shooting at the Juliet Supperclub was Tracy Ryals, 28, of Harlem, a convicted killer.
Police sources the victim in a shooting at the Juliet Supperclub was Tracy Ryals, 28, of Harlem, a convicted killer.
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NYPD Sources

By Mathew Katz and Murray Weiss

DNAinfo Staff

CHELSEA — A man who survived three bullet wounds after Tuesday's shooting at a celeb-packed Chelsea nightclub where several New York Giants were partying was convicted of manslaughter in 2004, police sources said.

According to sources, the survivor, Tracy Ryals, 28, of Harlem, was convicted in the shooting death of Derek Edwards at the corner of West 119th Street and Seventh Avenue in 2004. He served five years in prison for that crime, and was released in September 2010, sources said.

Ryals was shot three times after a gunman opened fire at the Juliet Supperclub at 539 W. 21st St. early Tuesday morning, and is now paralyzed from the waist down, sources said.

Police sources say that Ryals is not cooperating in the investigation, and will not identify the gunman who opened fire at the popular celebrity nightclub.

A second victim was a 43-year-old man, who was shot twice in the torso and once in the back. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Bellevue hospital on Tuesday morning. Police have yet to release his identity, pending family notification. A third victim was also grazed in the leg by a bullet.

According to reports, several New York Giants players, including Chris Canty, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Antrel Rolle, and Aaron Ross, were all at the club during the shooting. News reports placed actor Ryan Phillippe at the club as well, but a spokeswoman for the Juliet denied Phillippe was present.

Police sources said that they plan to talk to the Giants who were there, who, "like everyone in place," went running at the sound of gunfire. Police do not believe the Giants witnessed the shooting itself.

In September, Christopher Adames, 23, of Morningside Heights, was found stabbed multiple times in the torso outside the Juliet Supperclub and later died of his injuries. Club promoter Manuel Pinero has been charged by authorities in that case.

A spokeswoman for the club said that it had turned over hours of video footage from Tuesday morning's shooting, and police plan to review those tapes to figure out who the killer is.