HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — City council members of Huntington voted Monday to approve a resolution finding Premier Pub & Grill a public nuisance and that the public nuisance shall be abated.
The resolution came before the committee following a move from the Huntington Public Safety Committee. Scott Damron, Huntington City Attorney and Karl Colder, Huntington Chief of Police spoke in front that committee on why they believed the move was necessary.
On Nov. 4, an argument occurred at Premier Pub & Grill on 4th Avenue, which led to shots being fired at D.P. Dough, a neighboring business. A worker in DP Dough was killed from being struck by a bullet.
“After the incident at the bar, two men left the bar in a car and shot back at the bar. Shots entered D.P. Dough, striking the young man in the head. This incident was the last straw for this bar,” Damron said.
Damron gave a timeline of problems at that bar to the committee. He said just weeks before the Nov. 4 shooting there was a threat to shoot the bar. There were two shootings in March at the pub property, Damron said, that resulted in West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration (ABCA) suspending its alcohol license
Damron continued by saying the bar opened back up in September and less than two months later the Nov. 4 incident occurred.
“There is no effort to change the way. There were also commitments made to the ABCA that were not adhered to,” Colder said.
Over the weekend, the bar posted on its Facebook page it would close its doors.
Last week, the city of Huntington filed a formal complaint against the bar’s operators and the building owner.
Colder said people in the area do not feel safe and that includes the Marshall University community which sits just a block down from the facility.
“People don’t feel safe. It’s our job at HPD, it’s the mayor’s job, it’s your job, it’s our city attorney’s job to make sure people are safe,” Colder said.