Jacksonville Police on Saturday continued to investigate what they believe was a gang-related shooting at Brother’s Bar that left three men wounded, according to police.
Jacksonville Police Chief Marcus Wood told APR on Saturday that several people opened fire outside the bar early Saturday morning, and that three men were later taken to Regional Medical Center in Anniston with gunshot wounds. All three were in stable condition Saturday, he said.
Brother’s Bar hosted a concert for Bessemer rap artist TLE Cenco on Friday evening. Wood said investigators believe people who came to the bar with the rap artist are gang affiliated. He said one of the victims was at the bar and was “severely intoxicated” and “exchanging gang signs” with the others during the concert. All of the victims are thought to be from outside of Calhoun County, he said.
“One of the victims may have antagonized the actual rapper and his crew and a security guy was trying to keep him away, so we believe that that may have had something to do with the shooting outside,” Wood said. Wood declined to name the victims and said he would do so after the investigation progressed further.
Jacksonville officers were nearby, heard the shots and arrived at the bar within 30 seconds, Wood said.
A Video posted to Facebook at around 3 a.m. Saturday morning by a bystander shows a Jacksonville State University police officer attending to a bloodied man who appears to be one of the three victims. Someone can be heard on the video saying that the officer was “shaking that man down” but Wood said the officer was applying a tourniquet to stop the bleeding, which may have saved the man’s life.
Bullet fragments and shell casing were scattered around the outside of the bar, Wood said. A bullet struck a building across the street as well.
The small university town isn’t accustomed to mass shootings, but all Alabama police officers now receive 16 hours of active shooter training.
“As active shooter situations become more prevalent around the nation they’re always on our radar,’ Wood said.
The officers who responded were dealing with two groups shooting at one another, people in the crossfire fleeing and feeling helpless, Wood said, but his officers were doing well Saturday evening.
“I talked to them just a little bit ago and they all seem to be doing very, very well,” Wood said. “They’re doing good, and they’ve got to work again tonight.”
