Nineteen months after a brawl inside a Clinton Hill nightclub ended with a 31-year-old man shot dead, NYPD detectives say they've finally identified a suspect — but he's still nowhere to be found. Detectives have named 31-year-old Dominique Heard as the man who allegedly opened fire on Jordan Amador inside Socialites Lounge on Atlantic Avenue early on Sunday, February 16, 2025, following an argument between the two men.
Amador, who lived in East Flatbush, was struck in the chest during the altercation and was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in Park Slope, where he was pronounced dead, according to Alamy. The shooting took place around 3:10 a.m. inside the lounge, an Afro-Caribbean nightlife venue located at 857 Atlantic Avenue between Washington Avenue and Waverly Avenue in Clinton Hill, according to the New York Daily News. Police say Amador had been brawling with the suspect inside the club just before the suspect drew a weapon and opened fire.
Suspect Has Been Arrested Seven Times, Police Say
NYPD detectives released an image of Heard on September 9, 2026, and are asking the public for help locating him, per the same Daily News report by reporter Colin Mixson. Police say Heard has been arrested seven times in New York City, with a history that includes charges for forgery, possession of a loaded firearm, and robbery. His most recent arrest, the outlet notes, came in August 2023 on a grand larceny charge.
Anyone with information is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS, with calls kept confidential, the report states. Heard has not been charged in Amador's death and remains at large; he has not been convicted of any crime connected to the shooting.
A Nightlife Venue With a Prior Community Review
Socialites Lounge wasn't a stranger to local oversight before the shooting. Brooklyn Community Board 2's Health, Environment & Social Services Committee reviewed a State Liquor Authority application for the Atlantic Avenue address back in June 2023, according to a recording of the board's proceedings. Commercial real estate records reviewed on LoopNet show the 857 Atlantic Avenue property was listed for lease following the fatal shooting, an indication that the venue's run at that address came to an end.
A Precinct Spike Against a Borough-Wide Decline
The shooting happened within the NYPD's 88th Precinct, which covers Clinton Hill and Fort Greene and recorded 8 shooting incidents in 2025 — a 33.3% increase compared to 2024, according to precinct data compiled by bkcb6.app. That local uptick stands in contrast to the broader trend across Brooklyn, where borough-wide crime updates in mid-2026 showed year-to-date homicides had dropped 37% and shooting incidents had fallen 16% compared to the same period in 2025, as Hoodline previously reported in its coverage of the borough's historically quiet summer.
Prosecutors in Brooklyn have kept a public focus on violent crime in the same precinct. In September 2026, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office highlighted its ongoing enforcement efforts in the 88th Precinct after securing a 13-year prison sentence for an armed robbery offender operating in Clinton Hill, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.
What Heard Could Face if Caught
If Heard is eventually apprehended and charged in Amador's death, an intentional fatal shooting in New York is typically prosecuted under Penal Law Section 125.25 for Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A-I felony carrying a sentence of 15 years to life, according to legal analysis from the Spodek Law Group. Separately, carrying an unlicensed loaded firearm in public violates Penal Law Section 265.03, a Class C violent felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 3.5 years up to 15 years, per Saland Law. Heard has not been charged with either offense as of this writing.
For now, the case remains open, with detectives relying on the public to help close the gap between the shooting and an arrest. What specific evidence led investigators to name Heard nearly a year and a half after the shooting has not been disclosed.
