Two people were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries early Sunday morning following a shooting inside of Andy's Bar & Grill in Denton. Police were responding to an unrelated call nearby when they saw people running away from the bar at the corner of North Locust and West Oak streets. Witnesses at the bar then told police that shots were fired inside the bar.
Police arrested two people who were leaving bar area in a vehicle. Officers pulled over the driver and found four men inside the car - two with gunshot wounds and two others, who were arrested for possession of a controlled substance after prescription pills were found inside the vehicle.
While following the vehicle, the officers reportedly saw someone throw an object out of the window. Officers recovered the object, which turned out to be a gun. They also found another gun inside of the vehicle.
The two wounded individuals were brought to the hospital for treatment.
Police say the shots were fired during an altercation during a concert inside of Andy's. An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Attorney contributor Anjali Nigam helps violent crime victims get the support they need. We've asked him to add some input into bar owner liability for shootings, stabbings, and other violent incidents:
Bar shootings raise many questions. Along with determining who was responsible for committing the crime, it's also important to investigate all of the circumstances surrounding the crime. We must ask if there was anything more that could have been done to prevent the shooting.
In some bar shooting cases, the incident may have been prevented by better security standards at the bar. Inadequate security is a form of negligence, which means that shootings which occur due to negligent security could result in liability for the bar owner. This means that those who have been injured and the families of those killed in the shooting could have grounds for a lawsuit against the bar owner.
Determining if a bar owner was negligent is a complicated process which will require a careful overview of the case by an experienced crime victim lawyer.