A long history of public disturbances, fights and a January shooting that left one critically injured has led the city of Des Moines to sue an owner of a local events center to shut her doors permanently.

Des Moines filed a petition to stop allowing private events at Aplauso Event Center and Catering, 2134 E. Grand Ave., for what it says are continuous public disturbances and fights that date back to 2020. If a judge approves the injunction, an events center could no longer operate out of the building by the current or any new tenants.

The events center was formerly owned by Lazlo Calderon, but he had been banned from operating events at the site due to past issues, according to the lawsuit. His wife, Patricia Chavez, was registered as the new owner in March 2022.

The petition alleges that police met with Chavez in October after multiple and continuous calls for disturbing the peace to tell her the disturbances were unacceptable.

Then, on Jan. 28, two people were shot inside the building during a private event. One juvenile was hospitalized for a non-life-threatening injury to the neck and one man with a life-threatening injury to the abdomen, said Des Moines police spokesperson Sgt. Paul Parizek.

“We’re understanding of occasional fights at bars, disputes or loud music — that kind of comes with the territory,” Parizek said. “What stands out is when you start having violent crimes like shootings. We’ve seen those situations there and that’s something we’re trying to address.”

The two people who were shot are recovering, Parizek said. The police department is still investigating the case and have not charged anybody with the shooting. It did, however, arrest two people on scene: one for interference and another for assault for allegedly punching a police officer in the face.

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Chavez, who said she understands why the city of Des Moines is upset, asserted that owners ultimately shouldn’t be blamed for the actions of their patrons.

“You can’t control a person’s actions,” Chavez told the Des Moines Register in an interview in Spanish. “It happened so fast.”

She said she has made sure to staff security when they hold private parties. But running a business that holds private events comes with the risk of letting strangers inside your property, she said.

“Sometimes these things are totally out of our hands,” Chavez said. “There are crazy people, and you can’t control what they do. I feel bad, but unfortunately sometimes bad things happen.”

A judge will hear the city’s request for an injunction on March 22.

José Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at jmendiola@dmreg.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines sues east side Latino event center for history of violence