UPDATE: Bliss Soldier Among Men Shot Outside West Side Bar

A gunman is on the loose after shooting two men at a parking lot at the popular Cincinnati Entertainment District about 1 a.m. Wednesday Morning.

Witnesses said a man in a purple shirt shot two men in the parking lot in front of the Liquor Dicks and Spice bars and then fled to the Kern Place neighborhood.

Police said the victims are 29 and 32 years old. A Fort Bliss spokesman confirmed that one of the men is a soldier, but was unsure which one of the two men is the soldier.

The wounded men are expected to recover, police said. Witnesses said they were shot in the chest and the back, though police at the scene said the men had wounds to their abdomen.

A Border Patrol helicopter assisted in the search for the shooter.

One witness, Jenna Martinez, said she tried to help one of the men.

“I spoke to the guy. … I was holding his stomach, you know, (putting) pressure,” she said. “He said that he didn’t even know the guy. He didn’t know what was going on or what the situation was or why he got shot.”

Some of the bars were holding $2-you-call-it drink specials and the manager of a nearby restaurant said she hopes there’s more enforcement on those nights.

“When there’s a bunch of drink specials, everyone tries to come out and take advantage of that, which is great for the business at the bars. But when things like this happen, I think it’s a complete downfall on everybody,” said Katherine Birk, manager at Ardovino’s Restaurant.

Ardovino’s, like other restaurants in the area, aren’t open as late as the bars, but Birk said violent acts affect the rest of the businesses, too. “Tuesdays, the last couple of weeks, seem to be a big problem. You know, I think it definitely has an effect on our businesses down here even if we’re not open at that hour.”

Police spokesman Detective Mike Baranyay said there have been increased patrols in the area, and police are now going to monitor the entertainment district more closely.

On Friday, there was a fight involving more than a dozen people in the same area. There was also a stabbing in December at the same parking lot as Tuesday’s shooting.

“People want to be safe and you’re not going to feel safe if there are things like this that are happening and are not being prevented with enough security or monitoring. So yeah, I’m going to stay away for a while,” said a woman having lunch nearby on Wednesday.

“Everyone out here is trying to have a good time and just have a couple of drinks and whatever and people like that have to act stupid and try and hurt a life. You know, nobody deserves anything like that, regardless of what they do,” Martinez said.