Hookah Bar bouncer turns away armed man, hears multiple shots
Witnesses heard gunshots fired near the Horseshoe early Thursday morning, according to an incident report.
At around 1:40 a.m., a group of three men walked up to the 803 Hookah Bar & Lounge and tried to enter, when a bouncer noticed one had a handgun tucked in the waistband of his pants, according to the report. The bouncer turned him away.
He “became upset,” the report said, and walked away, toward the back of USC’s James F. Byrnes Building, which is on the corner of Sumter and College streets.
A few minutes later, the bouncer heard multiple gunshots, according to the report.
The suspect is described in the report only as a black male with black hair and brown eyes.
A responding officer didn’t find any shell casings, Columbia police spokeswoman Jennifer Timmons wrote in an email response, and the department is still investigating.
The alleged shooting wasn’t the first incident involving guns in the area this year.
In June, a fight broke out at the 803 Hookah Bar and spilled out into the parking lot, where a suspect shot another man in the calf. Less than two weeks later, a man allegedly robbed a victim at gunpoint in the parking lot behind the Byrnes Building.
Crime on the periphery of USC’s campus has been in the spotlight this semester, following a spate of highly publicized incidents. In September, Columbia police officials said they’d ramp up their patrols and make more contacts with people in the area.
People with information about Thursday morning’s incident are asked to call Columbia police or Crimestoppers at 1-888-274-6372 (CRIME-SC).