Security guard killed in ‘targeted’ shooting was former officer at multiple police agencies

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP — A nightclub security guard was shot and killed early Monday morning, in what Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck calls a “targeted killing.”

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Senseless killings;’ Shooting death of security guard at nightclub appears targeted, sheriff says

As reported by Mike Campbell on News Center 7 at 6:00, we found out that Darnell Pate was a police officer for at least four departments.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Napoleon’s Palace in the 4100 block of Germantown Pike on reports of a shooting around 2:50 a.m.

When they arrived, they found Pate fatally shot inside a vehicle.

“His shift was over at that point, he was leaving, going to his vehicle,” Streck said.

Streck said there’s no doubt someone targeted Pate.

Detectives discovered a stolen car abandoned in the area, and they believe it was driven by the person or people that killed Pate.

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News Center 7 has learned that Pate was much more than a nightclub security guard.

A flood of social media posts hailed Pate as a man who will not only be missed but a man who served and protected as a sworn officer.

News Center 7 confirmed that Pate worked as a police officer in the small village of Addyston in Hamilton County.

He also served as a police officer in the village of New Vienna in Clinton County, including three months as the interim chief.

According to the New Holland Village Administrator, Pate worked as a reserve officer in 2022 and 2023. They said Pate was a fine officer and professional.

From Oct. 2019 to Jan. 2020, Pate was an officer with the Union City Police Department.

Pate’s death is causing shock among friends, family, and those who knew his work.

“It’s just crazy, it’s sad, how life works, one day you are here, the next day you’re gone,” one woman said.

Streck said his office isn’t sure what the exact motive in this shooting was, but it is possible that it didn’t have anything to do with Pate’s security guard job.

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