HAVERHILL — Julio Zuniga was the type of guy who was a friend to everyone who knew him, family members recalled yesterday.

"He didn't know how to say, 'No.' He would always take you in," said Miguel Velez, 18, his oldest child, "and no matter what, he would always be your friend."

Zuniga, a father of five, and his cousin Roberto Francisco Sanchez Rios, both 34, were shot after a fight started inside D'Cache nightclub — formerly Punto Final — and spilled into the club's parking lot early Sunday, police said.

Zuniga died but Rios, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to Lawrence General Hospital in critical condition, is expected to recover, police Chief John Romero said.

Zuniga, who moved to Lawrence from Mexico in the early 1990s, worked as a manager at a recycling plant in Salem, N.H., to support his son, four daughters and wife, Yvonne.

"We miss him and we love him," Yvonne Zuniga said. "We want him home, but there's no way that's going to happen."

Zuniga leaves behind five children ages 8 to 18.

Relative Maria Velez remembered Zuniga as someone appreciated by his family and the community.

"He was a well-respected person and very much loved," she said. "He was an excellent father."

As Zuniga's family mourns his death, police continue to investigate the shooting.

Police are interviewing witnesses and "working on a couple of angles," but no new information on the investigation was available last night, Romero said.

This isn't the first time police have had problems at the club at 272 Broadway. The club, which is now under new management and was renamed three weeks ago, has been a hot spot for crime, police said.

Over the years, the business has been the backdrop for a double shooting, triple stabbing and other violent crimes, some of which were not immediately reported to police.

The new manager of the club, Brian DePena, said he is working to improve the reputation and security of the establishment, including instituting a dress code and installing an outdoor surveillance system.

Staff writer Jill Harmacinski contributed to this report.