A 27-year-old man was shot and killed outside of a nightclub in Lawrence early Saturday morning. 

It happened around 2 a.m. on Essex Street outside of the Acqua Nightclub. It is unclear what led to the shooting, and no arrests have been made. 

The victim's family is being notified, so their name has not been released.

District Attorney Paul Tucker is investigating the incident. Lawrence Police are asking that anyone with information about the incident call them at 978-794-5900. 

Lawrence residents shocked 

Business owners and residents of Lawrence say they were shocked by the shooting.

"People ask me 'Why you no open at night? You would get more people.' I say 'there's more problems too,'" said Tony Castillo, who owns Miguelina, a Dominican restaurant on Essex.

He said that after 1 a.m., the street gets extremely crowded. 

"What happened last night, unfortunately, it happens in every city," said John Rigal, who is running for city council.

Later in the day on Saturday, the street was packed full of families, enjoying the Sí Lawrence Festival full of music, food, carnival games, a petting zoo, and more for people of all ages. Rigal and Castillo say that this is what their city is actually like.

"What you see today is our community. Today is all about family. It's all about being happy. It's all about unity," Rigal said.

"Lawrence has become a different city. We had a bad reputation, but like I say, it's been a while since something like that happened," Castillo said.