St Louis security officer shot
ST LOUIS IL Aug 20 2021 A security guard for Reign Restaurant was one of two men shot downtown early Wednesday after a woman who was kicked out of the bar returned with her boyfriend to confront security.
A 24-year-old man and a 26-year-old man were shot in the legs about 12:10 a.m. in the 1100 block of St. Charles Street, behind Reign. One of the victims worked security for Reign, police said. The victims were taken to a hospital.
The injured security guard works as a contractor for Reign and is from King Security, said Dana Kelly, an owner of Reign. The guard was treated and released from the hospital Wednesday morning, Kelly said. The other injured man was stable, police said, but it wasn’t clear whether he had also been released from the hospital.
St. Louis police were called downtown for a disturbance near Reign, at 1122 Washington Avenue, and found about 100 people standing in the street, blocking Washington Avenue. As officers tried to get the crowd to leave, they heard gunshots in the area of North 11th and St. Charles streets. Shots hit the two men.
Earlier, security guards at Reign had escorted a woman out of the bar, and she returned with her boyfriend, said police Officer Michelle Woodling. The boyfriend argued with security guards and is the suspected gunman, Woodling said. Police didn’t say why the woman was ejected from Reign.
The woman and her boyfriend ran off after the shooting. Police did not release a detailed description of him.
Kelly, the Reign owner, told the Post-Dispatch that two men were “involved in what appears to have been a domestic dispute which led to a shooting across the street from our restaurant.” Kelly said the shooting was not tied to someone being kicked out of Reign for using counterfeit bills.
“The counterfeit situation did not result in a shooting,” Kelly said.
“We don’t have all the information, but we are shocked and saddened that these individuals resorted to violence, which is not welcome at Reign and never will be,” Kelly said, praising police for arriving quickly.
Members of the Downtown Neighborhood Association have sought scrutiny of Reign; the city shut down the restaurant multiple times for violations of COVID-19 restrictions.
In December, four people were shot outside of Reign. Some residents complain the restaurant operates as a nightclub and have petitioned for the city to pull its liquor license. Last month, liquor control officials ruled that the petition was two signatures short of what city code requires for a challenge.
Before the latest shooting, Kelly said she asked the city to provide more patrols around the time bars close in the downtown entertainment district. She said parking lots aren’t being patrolled properly and Reign is being unfairly blamed for troubles downtown.
