A man was shot and two others were hit by bullet fragments on Saturday night at a wine bar in St. Louis, CBS affiliate KMOV reported.
A 36-year-old male victim was shot in the mouth around 9:48 p.m. and is still in critical condition. Police found the man unconscious but still breathing at the scene.
A 35-year-old man and 36-year-old woman were also injured by bullet fragments. A bachelorette party was being held at the time, and some bystanders mistook the gunshots for confetti poppers or fireworks.
The bar, called Sasha’s, will be closed temporarily while the scene is processed by authorities.
A “very surreal” experience
Victor Najduch was at Sasha’s with his wife when the shooting took place. Some bystanders took cover under the tables when they heard the gunshots.
“Sasha’s not a place where you would expect that to happen,” Najduch said. “Very, very strange. Very surreal.”
Although there hasn’t been a homicide in the Shaw neighborhood since 2011, the number of violent incidents in the area has doubled so far this year, with 13 occurring from January–August 2018 and 26 occurring so far in 2019.
Residents who live nearby said they heard one gunshot, then a pause, and then more gunshots.
“People had to have seen the shooter but it happened so fast nobody seems to be able to give a description,” one unnamed witness said.
Good Samaritans to the rescue
Police confirmed that no one present at the bar was able to give a description of the shooter. No information about a reason for the shooting was given.
About 30 patrons were in the bar when the shooting took place, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Chef Nicholas Jackson said people ran into the kitchen where he was cooking and into the parking lot to try to get away from the shooter.
When Jackson left the kitchen and saw the victim bleeding, he brought towels to help stop the bleeding. Some patrons also tried to help the victim until EMS arrived.
The incident remains under investigation.
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