Name: King Street bar employee shot by patron who was upset over 11 pm curfew due to pandemic
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King Street bar employee shot by patron who was upset over 11 pm curfew due to pandemic

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You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.An employee at a busy King Street bar in downtown Charleston was shot the night of Feb. 5 when a group outside the establishment got into a shouting match after being told it was closing time and they couldn't come back in.The shooting happened at the popular college bar King Street Public House. The victim, Javar Dwayne Middleton, 28, was listed at Medical University Hospital as "alert and conscious" on Feb. 6.Middleton was an employee at King Street Public House, according to Charleston police. The bar had a sign in the window on Feb. 6 announcing it was closed for the day.Managers of the popular bar did not respond to several phone calls, emails and Facebook messages asking about the incident.&nbsp;The shooting happened Feb. 5 about 11 p.m., when bars in the city of Charleston were preparing to close due to COVID-19 restrictions put in place by state officials.&nbsp;City of Charleston police were patrolling nearby when they heard gunshots coming from inside King Street Public House, according to an incident report. Many officers were out with city code enforcement officers monitoring safe COVID-19 protocols and were able to immediately respond to the shooting.Police said a group of four people became upset about being told to leave the bar at closing time and being refused entry back inside. They got into a verbal dispute with bar bouncers on the sidewalk in front of the door.Middleton went to the door to help his coworkers when one of the members of the group pulled a handgun and fired at the staff before fleeing.&nbsp;When officers arrived, they found Middleton on the ground next to the pinball machines near the bar, wounded with a gunshot to his left leg.Officers did not find a suspect at the scene,&nbsp;but police said there was no immediate threat to the public. Middleton could not be reached for comment and did not immediately respond to an email that was registered to him.Zachary Estes, an 18-year-old freshman at the College of Charleston, said he was standing outside the bar when he heard a series of loud noises&nbsp;— pop, pop, pop.&nbsp;"The bars were getting out at 11 (p.m.) like they're supposed to," Estes said. "I thought it was fireworks."&nbsp;When he turned around and saw a man in a red shirt holding a "subcompact" handgun. The man fled.Outside the bar on upper King, sidewalks were filled with onlookers as officers took statements from witnesses.&nbsp;At least one bullet hole was visible in the bar's windows and officers kept the street cordoned off with crime scene tape for more than an hour.&nbsp;Standing on King near the scene, Estes said he saw Middleton, who'd collapsed and was slamming the ground with his fist.&nbsp;The 28-year-old was screaming that he'd been shot, he said.&nbsp;"I didn't know where he'd been hit but I saw blood and he said he was hit in the leg," Estes said.&nbsp;He pressed his hands onto the man's thigh and tried to comfort him until police arrived, the college freshman said."I told him, 'You're not going to die on me,'" Estes said.&nbsp;&nbsp;As he recalled the pain and horror of those moments, Estes started shaking, then crying.He said he was glad to know the victim is likely to survive and is getting medical care, but the shooting left him shocked."This shouldn't happen here," Estes said, traces of the victim's blood still on his hands. "It's just so messed up."&nbsp;Police continue to investigate the shooting. Anyone with information can call the Charleston County Consolidated 911 Center at 843-743-7200.The shooting comes as the South Carolina Statehouse is taking up a bill that would allow trained gun owners to openly carry their weapons in public.&nbsp;While gun-rights advocates say it's a sensible move that falls within Constitutional authority, critics and gun safety supporters say it will promote more violence.&nbsp;&nbsp;Tisa Whack, the state and deputy chapter lead for Moms Demand Action SC, was dining in downtown Charleston on Friday night. After hearing about the shooting, she was surprised the Statehouse was prioritizing the gun bill in the midst of the pandemic.&nbsp;"It's absurd," Whack said. "The Statehouse is pursuing this amid acts of violence that we saw last night."&nbsp;The Palmetto State is currently one of only five states that prohibits the open carrying of handguns for permit holders, along with California, Florida, New York and Illinois.Reach Gregory Yee at 843-323-9175. Follow him on Twitter ., Post and Courier, an Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group. All rights reserved.&nbsp;| &nbsp;|

You are the owner of this article.You have permission to edit this article.An employee at a busy King Street bar in downtown Charleston was shot the night of Feb. 5 when a group outside the establishment got into a shouting match after being told it was closing time and they couldn't come back in.The shooting happened at the popular college bar King Street Public House. The victim, Javar Dwayne Middleton, 28, was listed at Medical University Hospital as "alert and conscious" on Feb. 6.Middleton was an employee at King Street Public House, according to Charleston police. The bar had a sign...

King Street bar employee shot by patron who was upset over 11 pm curfew due to pandemic

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