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GREENSBORO - The investigation of a shooting at a packed movie theater in January has slowed because of difficulty establishing a description of the shooter, police said Wednesday.

Just after 9 p.m. on Jan. 16, Clive O'Connor was shot twice in the abdomen during an argument inside a packed hallway at the Grand 18 at Four Seasons Station, police said.

Despite the presence of an estimated 700 people, all of whom were evacuated from the theater at 2700 Vanstory St., police said Thursday that they have not been able to establish a solid description of the shooter.

"We don't have a description or anything right now," said Capt. Janice Rogers, head of the Greensboro Police Department's criminal investigations division.

"There is no physical description on the person who pulled the trigger, and much of what we have gotten has been second-hand."

Rogers said investigators have reviewed surveillance video, and the department has received several leads, but all have run into dead ends.

Complicating matters, she said, several balloons popped in a bouquet being carried through a crowded hallway immediately before the shooting.

"People thought (the gunshots) were that and weren't paying attention," Rogers said. "It was seconds afterward until anyone realized what happened."

Beyond the two rounds that struck O'Connor, she said, investigators are unsure how many shots were fired.

O'Connor, 32, had surgery at Moses Cone Hospital. Police interviewed O'Connor at the hospital, Rogers said.

Hospital officials said his family asked no information be released on his medical status in the days after the shooting. Attempts to reach him for comment have been unsuccessful.

The shooting happened on the same night as the opening of "Notorious" - a film about the life and death of rapper Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1999.

Actor and rapper Jamal "Gravy" Woodard, who plays B.I.G. in the movie, was in attendance at the theater when the shooting occurred, officials have said.

Police urge anyone who witnessed the shooting or who has information about it to call Crime Stoppers at 373-1000.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com