Updated with comments from the Hookah 21 manager.

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Two people were injured in a shooting at a hookah bar over the weekend, and one neighboring business owner says enough is enough.

The Clarksville Police Department has confirmed that two people were shot in the incident.

The shooting was at Hookah 21, and neighboring King’s Bluff Brewery co-founder Dustyn Brewer said there have been a variety of problems.

Staying open into early morning

Hookah 21 is at 138 University Ave. and has been in business for about four years. Brewer told Clarksville Now that incidents have gotten increasingly worse since March, when Hookah 21 obtained a liquor license.

“It’s been brought to their attention before about the shootings, security, people parking all over the place, breaking bottles, and all that stuff,” he said.

Brewer attributed the ongoing issues to the hours Hookah 21 remains open. He noted that while King’s Bluff Brewery and several other businesses that serve alcohol close around 10 p.m., Hookah 21 stays open until 3 a.m. or later. He explained that closing early limits potential issues.

“Honestly, we’re just trying to be good stewards of our community. We understand we can’t dictate everything that happens in your business; that’s impossible,” he said. “This has been going on for months, and more and more people are just getting hurt.”

Clarksville Now has reached out to Hookah 21 for comment.

Saturday night shooting 

Brewer said he was out of town at the time of the shooting, but other business owners and property managers filled him in on what they knew.

“There was a shooting at about 2 in the morning (Sunday). Two individuals were ejected from the hookah bar, and when they were ejected from the hookah bar, one of them pulled a gun on the other one and shot multiple times. One of the bullets ricocheted, and the bullet splatter actually struck a tenant in one of the apartment buildings behind Hookah 21. A couple of the other bullets struck the other individual, paralyzing him, and he was shouting, ‘I can’t feel my legs, I can’t feel my legs.'”

He said the shooter ran from the scene, and the person who was shot multiple times was later loaded onto a stretcher by EMS and taken to an Austin Peay State University parking lot, where he was flown by LifeFlight to a critical care hospital.

Hookah 21 general manager Abdul Thaqil said the victim in the parking lot was never in the bar. He said he was unsure about the shooter. He said the shooting had nothing to do with Hookah 21.

Clarksville Police Lt. Charles Gill confirmed there was a shooting early Sunday morning, and there were two victims, but no further details were released. The incident is under investigation, Gill said.

Calling for solutions

Brewer is calling for solutions to the growing violence outside the club.

“We’re just urging the community to do what’s right and protect the members of the community, whether that’s all of us getting together to figure out how we can be helpful or if it’s them (Hookah 21) changing essentially how they do business. It’s terrifying for our employees. They’re afraid to walk out to their cars at night, and it’s a little bit too close to the university for stuff like this to be happening,” Brewer told Clarksville Now.

According to Brewer, several other agencies, including the mayor’s office, have been contacted about the situation. But in the meantime, local business owners have been instructed to call 911 if further disturbances arise.

“The fact that we have all reached out to city officials, to our elected leaders, and we’re getting back essentially, ‘You guys are on your own, just keep calling 911,’ to me, is pathetic,” Brewer said. “So I’d like to see a little bit more proactive moves to help our community be safer and to grow.”

Clarksville Now has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.