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Police shut down New Bedford bar after shooting, citing history of violent incidents
Morna Lounge and Grill, in New Bedford, has been the site of shootings and stabbings.
After a shooting at a restaurant over the weekend that left one person dead and two others injured, New Bedford Police ordered the establishment to close indefinitely.
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In a letter to the owner of Morna Lounge and Grill, Mateus Jose Barbosa, New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira ordered him to “close and cease operations” in order to “suppress and prevent all disturbances and disorders,” referring to the situation as “an emergency.” The business identifies itself on its website as a family-owned Cape Verdean restaurant.
The most recent shooting occurred Saturday shortly after 1:20 a.m., just before closing time. Cristiano Macedo, 27, was killed, and two women, whose names have not been released, were injured.
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Danielson Varela, 19, was arraigned Monday in New Bedford District Court on charges of first-degree murder, unlawful gun possession, carrying a loaded firearm, and assault and battery with a firearm. He pleaded not guilty on all charges and is being held without bail.
Oliveira asserted in the letter that Varela, as a 19-year-old, should not have been on the premises.
“Despite his age, your ‘security’ admitted him on two separate occasions that night,” Oliveira said.
One of the people who was shot and injured was also 19.
There has been a history of violence at Morna Lounge and Grill, including a stabbing in 2022 and two shootings in 2024 abutting the premises, the chief wrote in his letter. In August, a 44-year-old man was pronounced dead at the hospital after being found in the grass behind the building with serious injuries.
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Since it opened less than four years ago, the business has appeared before the city’s Licensing Board five times for incidents occurring on 13 separate nights, Oliveira said.
“Despite the facts that your hours were modified by the Licensing Board, entertainment was prohibited for a period of time, that you are currently voluntarily closing at 1:30 a.m., and have retained ‘private security,’ violence has continued to occur at the premises,” Oliveira wrote in the letter to Barbosa.
Barbosa, of East Bridgewater, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Oliveira wrote in a statement that the New Bedford Police Department does not tolerate environments that enable “violence and disorder.”
“The safety and well-being of our City is our top priority, and we will take appropriate measures to address any establishment that fails to uphold its responsibility to the public,” Oliveira said.
Morna Lounge and Grill will remain closed until further notice.
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