HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Authorities continued their search Friday for the man believed to have fired shots inside a Huntington hookah bar on New Year’s morning.
Kymonie Desean Davis, 30, of Detroit, was charged Thursday night with seven counts of wanton endangerment and one count of malicious wounding. Huntington Interim Police Chief Ray Cornwell said they believe Davis opened fire inside the Kulture Hookah Bar at about 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 1 during a dispute with another person. Cornwell said Friday on MetroNews “Talkline” they are looking for the right suspect.
“We feel confident we’ve identified our suspect. We’re trying to run down any leads that we have to see if he may still be here locally and we’re reaching out to other agencies that have a further reach than we do,” Cornwell said.
As of Thursday, the shooting victims remained hospitalized. Two of them were in critical but stable condition.
Huntington interim police chief Ray Cornwell talks with @HoppyKercheval about closing down the Kulture Hookah Bar where seven people were injured in a shooting in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day. WATCH: https://t.co/wkudfIRZCB pic.twitter.com/MrGMQtvWNk
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) January 3, 2020
Cornwell predicted Davis wouldn’t be on the run long.
“Whether we find him here or the Detroit PD picks him up or the U.S. Marshals picks up somewhere else—I generally believe it’s just a matter of time before he’s picked up,” Cornwell said. “If a guy is living like this he’s bound to draw attention to himself and he’s bound to turn up somewhere. It’s just a matter of time.”
Cornwell declined to release information Friday about a possible motive in the shooting or where leads are pointing to a possible location for Davis. Cornwell said the investigation remains fluid.
Huntington Mayor Steve Williams announced Thursday plans to place a moratorium on new bars in the city as a result of the recent shooting. Cornwell said Friday the police department would support whatever Williams decides to do. Cornwell, like Williams, said there are a number of bars and restaurants that serve alcohol in Huntington that abide by the law.
“We have a pretty good working relationship with most of those places and the owners there and we generally don’t have problems,” Cornwell said Friday. “Generally speaking, when a place does start developing problems they don’t stay in business long because the Huntington community doesn’t really tolerate or support that kind of business.”