Tec-9 wielding gunman shoots up West Philadelphia strip bar
Police are still searching for a Tec-9 wielding gunman who shot up a West Philadelphia strip bar Sunday, wounding two people, including one of the dancers.
Tec-9 wielding gunman shoots up West Philadelphia strip bar
A gunman shot up a West Philadelphia strip bar Sunday, wounding two people, including one of the dancers, possibly after a lap dance gone wrong.
Police responded to La Pearl Lounge, on the 300 block of North 54th Street, about 8:30 p.m. and found a 38-year-old club bouncer shot in his back and a 32-year-old dancer shot in her face.
Both were treated at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and in stable condition, police said.
“We’re not quite sure what we have going on here yet,” Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives said of the shooting.
The dispute may have been sparked by a dancer who was jealous that her boyfriend had recieved a lap dance from another performer, Walker said.
At some point, the argument spilled onto the sidewalk, Walker said. The suspected shooter, who police believe was in the club earlier in the night, complained that someone had slashed his tires.
Walker said the man left and someone fitting his description soon returned with a Tec-9, a semi-automatic handgun. Patrons and employees rushed for cover as the gunmen squeezed off three shots toward the front door.
The bouncer was hit as he tried to run inside. The dancer was standing near the entrance when she was struck. She told police she saw the large gun, then a flash, and felt the bullet. It was not yet clear who the gunman wanted to shoot or whether the victims were the intended targets, Walker said.
The suspect was described as a stocky man in his mid-30s, about 5-10 and wearing a burgundy hooded sweatshirt.
So nobody caught the race of the suspect? And ..Jean where was it reported as a machine gun in this article? Also, if you look at who posted the information below, it says "Roundhouse". For all you out-of-towners here that is not a "professional journalist" but rather the PPD headquarters.— 215PhillySean
Comment removed.- Which bright and civic minded member of city council helped this "gentlmean's lounge" get a license? As if the area around 54th isn't a bullet flying, killing zone without a strip club and excessive testoserone coming into play......— unbelieveable!
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- An intern wrote this article. How fitting when you think about it, really, another shooting in Philadelphia. Do you really think the Editor's going to waste his good writers on another "what else is new" story? lol.— tulipwalk
- The damn Irish!!!— StorminNorman
There are many things left out in this story. The "real" story is that the shooter was angry because he ordered a "Boston Steamer"...and the dancer in question, easily confused because of her limited intelligence, produced a "Blumpkin" instead. Enraged...the patron, rather than file a complaint at customer service....grabbed his gun and freaked out. End of story.— Yermak29- such is life in West Philadelphia— franknbeans
- Tec-9 .. I wonder where he get that one from...who sell those walmart or target— noncents
- How does anyone know that the suspect is in their mid 30's but don't know what color they where?— edith bunker
- I stopped frequenting strip bars when I was 18.— RufusG
- Do they allow mesh shorts for lap dances?— MortgageMark
- "300 block of N. 54th Street": If you have never seen a clear peg leg before, this is the place to go and see one.— jcw
- With all due respect to the victims...re: the headline, aren't all the dancers at a strip bar "bouncers"...— TomTheCork
- The biggest loser posters are the ones that post about how "bad" the articles are written. Literally no one is a bigger loser.— Capsulef
- Wow! Hard to keep track of the typos.— Disco Dave
- Without proper protection, it is both an accidental and a negligent discharge.— Veer Ji
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It appears to be both risky and risqué to frequent this establishment.- Roger, I swore off posting on philly.com boards due to too much agita, but have to weigh in on your post - a much-needed laugh at the end of a long, mind-numbing day at the office.— 1980
- @guzzijason, Since you're sooo smart, I have a question for you: How come the people in the bar were able to ID a gun that's no bigger than a woman's pocketbook, and can be easily confused with a Mauser, Star, MP5, Mac10, or UZI, yet nobody can ID the shooter? The article is specific - "a Tec-9". Do people know how to tell a gun a lot better than how to tell a person in these places?— DonQ
- ... and down south, people commonly call a "Pepsi" a "Coke". My point is, who cares? And maybe nobody can ID the shooter because they don't know him? Just sayin'. I know when I walk into a strip club, I generally don't hand out business cards to the other patrons, but that's just me. — guzzijason
- Dude you know why to much about that strip club.— 420-24-7
- They still allow Umbros, robyn?— Roger Podacter
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- La Pearl swings.— tr88
- He saw Scareface one too many times. Come and meet my little friend.— dontavoidtheobvious
- A Tec-9? What is this, the '90s? That gunman is so out of style.— LeavePhillyNow
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- That's like, 56 in stripper years.— Roger Podacter
- Usual Suspects? No description needed here— cmoney
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- You're right about careless reporting. All us smart types know that the La Pearl Lounge is a Gentleman's Club not a Strip Bar! — Timmy Huey
- The Tec-9 a machine gun? It's nominally a semi-automatic pistol, but in reality it's nothing but a piece of stamped-metal junk.— DonQ
- I think a Tec-9 is in the Derringer family. — Timmy Huey
- That's awesome Q, guns are so cool. — Phila26
- Thanks Q — tdoc
- Hey - that's great! Somebody rush over to the hospital and let these people know that their injuries aren't as bad as they thought, because so-called "gun" (if you can really call it that) was just inferior junk. No big deal, really. They can probably just walk it off. — guzzijason
- The point is the reporting errors. It's referred to as a machine gun, but is actually semi-auto. Also, only 3 rounds were fired. You'd expect much more if it was a 'machine gun.'
— Jean Valjean - So? Most people don't know the difference between a shotgun and rifle either (which is commonly mixed up in the media as well). This minutiae doesn't really change the point though. — guzzijason
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