The first shooting happened just before 1 a.m. at the Day N Nite Hookah Bar in the 900 block of Cherry Street. Police say a 28-year-old man got into an argument with the security guard, prompting the guard to fire his gun inside a hookah bar. “This attacker attacks the security guard inside the hookah lounge, the clown punches him, (and) continues to attack him. And at some point, (he) grabs a hookah and goes to attack the security officer with the hookah” , Philadelphia police said. Captain Anthony Ginaldi. Police said the security guard, who had a permit to carry, drew his gun and fired. The 28-year-old was shot once in the left thigh. A 23-year-old woman was accidentally hit — shot once in each thigh. Both are in stable condition. “I still feel safe around here, but it’s a little scary about the incident,” said Chinatown native Dorothy Lum. Lum grew up in Chinatown and said it was always a warm and welcoming place to hang out at all hours. “I remember we stayed out until 2 in the morning, no one bothered us,” Lum said. “It is so sad to hear of such incidents.” Authorities believe the 28-year-old man had a history with the security guard. Another shooting happened a few hours later around 5:30 am Police said two men were walking down the street near 10th and Race streets and got into an argument with a group of six other people. One person in the large group allegedly pulled a gun and shot a 52-year-old man twice in the abdomen, police said. The victim was taken to hospital in critical condition but is now stable. “It appears that the motive for this incident was probably some type of altercation,” Ginaldi said. Data from the Philadelphia Comptroller’s Office shows how rare gun violence is in the Chinatown area. Only one shooting was recorded in the neighborhood in all of 2021. The only other shooting reported in Chinatown this year occurred in July in the 1000 block of Cherry Street. A man was shot and killed inside a building and police quickly made an arrest in that case. Police have not made any arrests in Saturday’s shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 215-686-TIPS. Copyright © 2022 WPVI-TV. All rights reserved.
