Tim Steller
A gunfight early Sunday morning near a midtown hookah lounge left four people wounded, including two whose injuries are life-threatening, Tucson police said.
While details were limited, some 100 bullets were fired in a gun battle that erupted about 2:45 a.m. on East Speedway and North Swan Road, Tucson police said.
Officers on an unrelated call nearby rushed to the scene after hearing gunfire. They immediately found three wounded people at the site, and another person showed up separately at a hospital with gunshot injuries, Tucson police said. Two people were critically wounded, and two were in stable condition early Sunday, police said.
Investigators on Sunday were still questioning several people tied to the incident.
“Currently there are several people detained and officers and detectives are working to determine their involvement at that time,” Sgt. Richard Gradillas, a police spokesman, said in an email.
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More details were anticipated later Sunday, he said.
Police closed Speedway west of Swan early Sunday as well as the parking lot on the northwest corner of the busy intersection.
Police markers noting where bullet casings were found were scattered across the parking area.
The shooting broke out near Arizona Hookah Lounge, 4620 E. Speedway.
Around the corner on Swan, Michelle Barnes, Michelle Lynn and Nikkole Wilmot were among a group of people spending the night in the doorway of an office building.
“It was nonstop,” Michelle Barnes said. “There was like five or six full clips they went through.”
Barnes said she was awake when the shooting started.
“We heard gunfire extremely close,” she said. “At first it doesn’t concern you that much. You hear gunfire all the time.”
“When it kept going, that’s when I started freaking out,” she went on. “My friend dove over me to protect me.”
The gunfire went on for a couple of minutes, Michelle Lynn said.
“It sounded like a machine gun,” she said. “You could sense something going by you.”
The acquaintances believe shots struck the building they were sleeping in front of. Tucson police reported damage from bullets to several nearby buildings.
It was not the first shooting stemming from disputes that started at a hookah lounge there. In 2018, Dominic Blount killed Avrum Diaz in an exchange of gunfire in what was then known as the Casablanca Hookah Lounge, next door at 4627 E. Speedway.
Other shootings have occurred since then.
Nikkole Wilmot, also part of the group sleeping outside on north Swan, said she slept behind the hookah lounge for two weeks a couple of years ago. The regular arguing and a shooting drove them to move.
The person listed as the statutory agent for the Arizona Hookah Lounge, Husam Baker, has been cited repeatedly for unruly gatherings, disorderly conduct-fighting, violating alcohol codes and red flag violations since 2017, Tucson Municipal Court records show.
But most of those cases have been dismissed by prosecutors or judges. The records show Baker held responsible in one 2016 case of disorderly conduct-fighting. An unruly gathering citation and a red-tag violation from 2018 also were upheld, the records say.
Tucson City Council Member Karin Uhlich, who represents the area, said “that location is obviously a real concern.”
It hasn’t always been clear, though, how or whether the lounge is responsible, she said.
“TPD has had a hard time directly holding the lounge or the proprietors accountable for what’s going on.”
Arizona Corporation Commission records show Arizona Hookah Lounge was established as Arizona Hookah Dance LLC in December 2018. It was formally renamed Arizona Hookah Lounge in January this year. The property is owned by the Dau and Tran Revocable Trust with an address in Escondido, Calif.
After speaking to the police chief, Uhlich said her understanding is that it was an existing conflict that erupted this morning.
“Sounds like there may be two groups who have had an ongoing beef, if you will,” Uhlich said. “Sounds like those two groups — things just came to a head.”
The people injured are between 22 years old and 31 years old, based on birth years Uhlich said she was given by police.
Contact columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @timothysteller
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