The Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control announced it had imposed an emergency suspension for the bar two days after a shooting rampage left 12 injured at a well-known Baton Rouge nightclub.
ATC commissioner Ernest Legier said Tuesday the agency issued the suspension for Dior Bar & Lounge, citing a “potential threat to public safety” in a statement that also referred to Reggie’s Bar in Tigerland, another establishment facing scrutiny following reports the bar was visited by an LSU student and a group of young men who allegedly raped her before leaving her in a Baton Rouge subdivision where she was struck and killed by a car.
The decision to permanently revoke the licenses for any facility has not yet been made. After the ATC examines the evidence in both cases, a hearing will be convened immediately to decide if Dior or Reggie will incur any fines, according to Legier.
Only a few hours earlier, District 12 Councilwoman Jen Racca had claimed that Dior’s owners had deliberately decided to keep the store closed while the investigation was ongoing.
Gunfire broke out during a crowded gathering billed online as an LSU and Southern University-themed party to start the spring semester. The lounge, located along a short row of bars and restaurants just off College Drive, was the scene of complete chaos on Sunday.
LSU and Southern’s spokespeople insisted that the episode was unrelated to either institution. Investigators said that just after 1:30 a.m., a lone shooter opened fire on the gathering, hurting 12 persons, three of whom were taken to the hospital in severe condition.
Only that the shooting was the result of a targeted attack against one or more of the partygoers had been disclosed thus far by Baton Rouge police. Michael Henderson, a longtime DJ among the injured, was hit in the hip by a bullet that went to his spine and left him paralyzed, according to a GoFundMe created to assist Henderson in covering his medical costs.
The police have arrested no one. Investigators have been looking through video footage from within the lounge, according to BRPD spokesman Sgt. L’Jean McKneely, to identify a suspect.
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