TABC Shuts Down Bar After Shooting In Parking Lot
The owner of a bar that has been shut down for a week after a shooting in the parking lot said it’s not fair, but the state agency closing its doors says it’s a matter of safety.
The El Paso Police Department’s Gang Unit arrested a man in Thursday’s overnight shooting outside the Players Billiards Parlor at 4024 Dyer St.
Alphonse Cannon, 29, was arrested on suspicion of criminal attempted murder.
The bar’s owner, Michael Corren, is having to deal with the consequences he says he has no control over.
Surveillance video obtained by ABC-7 shows a man shooting into a car early Thursday morning. The victim drives away and the shooter leaves in a different car.
“It had nothing to do with this bar in my parking lot. I stress, my parking lot, my shopping center, my home. Everything I’ve made has been put into my home. This is my home,” Corren said. “Someone can do a deal in this back parking lot and I get held responsible for it.”
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has shut down the bar for up to seven days.
“I think what we have to look at is the public safety issue,” TABC Lt. Sal Moralez said, adding that the closing is a preventative measure put in place anytime there’s a stabbing, shooting or murder to keep more acts of violence from happening in the same place.
“When you have something that could have subsequent acts of violence where someone could get killed, we need to do something as a step to keep that from happening and that’s the angle we’re hitting from,” Moralez said.
Even if it means closing on a busy weekend, like Halloween.
“I’m expecting to lose between $7000 to $10,000 this weekend, and within the next seven days,” Corren said.
Moralez said the TABC is working with the owners of of the billiards.
“When you weigh all that in, I think that the answer is obvious. We have to protect life, ” Moralez said.
If the investigation shows there’s no longer a threat of retaliation, the bar could be allowed to reopen. It’s unknown if the arrest made by the police department’s gang unit will help or hurt the decision.
