VIOLENCE ON TAP: Chelsea’s chic Juliet Supperclub was a scene of a fatal shooting during a party for Giants star receiver Victor Cruz. (Getty Images)
Bullets flew early yesterday at a wildly popular Chelsea nightspot where Giants star Victor Cruz was celebrating his birthday with a group of pals.
At least four shots were fired from a 9mm handgun at the trendy Juliet Supperclub, just steps from the High Line Park, at about 2:20 a.m., striking two men who cops said were the intended targets. One of them died.
A woman, described by the sources as an innocent victim, suffered a graze wound.
Members of the Giants and Kansas City Chiefs had been at the club that night but it was not clear when they left, police sources said.
One source said the star wide receiver was there for his 25th birthday and was still in the club when the shots were fired.
Actor Ryan Phillippe and R&B singer Estelle were also at the club, in addition to other members of Big Blue: Hakeem Nicks, Aaron Ross, Antrel Rolle and Chris Canty. Brandon Albert and Jarrad Paige from the Chiefs and NBA stars John Wall, Russell Westbrook, Chris Duhon and Bronx native Kemba Walker were there, too.
It was not clear whether any of them had been there during the frightening incident.
None of the athletes witnessed the shooting, said a spokesman for the nightclub.
Some 300 clubbers were partying when the shots were fired.
The dead man was identified as Artis Arthur, 43, of Brooklyn, who was shot in the torso.
Wounded were Tracy Ryals, 28, of The Bronx, and Jonai Washington, 28, of Long Island, the woman who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The shooting may have been set off when the gunman got into an argument with the two men involving “bumping” a woman, a police source said.
Ryals refused to cooperate with cops, according to one source.
He told police who questioned him at his bedside to “go f–k themselves,” a source said.
Police sources said Arthur and Ryals both have long rap sheets for drugs and assault.
The club was promoting a Just Chill Monday, a no-cover-charge event.
It’s not clear how the shooter was able to smuggle a gun into the premises, since the club insists all patrons be frisked and their bags searched.
Another Giants star wide receiver, Plaxico Burress, accidentally shot himself at the Latin Quarter nightclub in November 2008. After serving a 20-month sentence, Burress is now playing for the Jets.
Yesterday’s gunplay was the second violent incident at Juliet.
In September, an Upper West Side man was stabbed to death outside the club after a star-studded event that included NBA superstar LeBron James and players from the Giants.
Additional reporting by Paul Schwartz