Sean Bell, 23, was shot dead in the early hours of his wedding day when five officers opened fire at his car in an apparent mix-up outside the Kalua Cabaret strip club in Queens on Saturday.

Police said that undercover officers had been monitoring the club for prostitution. An officer was tipped off that a gunfight was about to break out and followed Mr Bell and his friends outside at about 4am.

A fight began outside, with Mr Bell and several other men allegedly shouting at someone else. One officer reported that he heard one of the men shout: “Yo, go get my gun.”

An officer followed the men as they got into Mr Bell’s car. Mr Bell allegedly drove forward, brushing past the officer, before hitting an unmarked police surveillance van as he turned the corner.

According to police, the first officer, who was in plain clothes, then identified himself and fired the first shot. Mr Bell backed the car into a building, then drove forward into the van again. Officers inside the van then responded, firing 50 shots, 21 of which hit the car.

Bell, who was due to marry his high-school sweetheart and the mother of his two children later in the day, was fatally hit by two shots to the neck and arm. Two other passengers were also hit. One was left in a critical condition. Police did not recover any weapon from the victims. Although the victims were black, officials rejected accusations of racism.

Explore World News

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• No cause for celebration in crushed Sarajevo
• Jazz funeral for the final victims of Katrina
• French fined for 'insulting' civil servants