West St. Paul police are investigating a Wednesday morning shooting at Cherokee Tavern that left a 29-year-old man in critical condition.
Police were called to the longtime Smith Avenue restaurant about 2:15 a.m. after a man was shot in the chest in the entryway, said West St. Paul police Lt. Brian Sturgeon.
No one had been arrested as of late Wednesday, Sturgeon said.
"We're following up on a lot of leads," he said.
Witnesses told police the shooter apparently became upset after being told to leave at closing time. He exchanged some words with others in the bar area and then fired three shots, one of which struck the victim, a St. Paul resident.
Friends took the man to United Hospital before police arrived, Sturgeon said. He was transferred to Regions Hospital because of the extent of his injuries. He underwent surgery and remained in critical condition late Wednesday, Sturgeon said.
Citing the ongoing investigation, police did not release his name Wednesday.
The man who fired the shots fled on foot. It's unknown whether he got into a vehicle, Sturgeon said.
A K-9 team from the Dakota County sheriff's office and patrol officers from nearby agencies assisted the police department in the search for the shooter, Sturgeon said.
Witnesses told police the argument started after a bartender and a disc jockey shut down for the night and staff were trying to clear the bar, Sturgeon said.
The Cherokee Tavern's Facebook page advertised Tuesday night's
scheduled entertainment as "DJ Ill Will."After a 2009 remodel, Cherokee Tavern co-owners Jim and Rick Casper began offering live entertainment in an attempt to bring in after-dinner sales to the restaurant's bar area. The remodeling included a new stage.
But it also might be attracting trouble, Sturgeon said.
Last year, a 20-year-old man fired a shot outside Cherokee Tavern but missed his intended target - a man who had asked him for a cigarette, according to a criminal complaint. The alleged shooter, Enrique G. Chavez of St. Paul, was inside the restaurant before the shooting and went back inside afterward, the complaint said.
Sturgeon described the restaurant's entertainment the nights of the shootings as a "hip-hop event."
"Is it an issue? Probably," he said of the entertainment. "We've had two similar incidents in a year and a half now, on nights with hip-hop events."
Co-owner Rick Casper said the disc jockey "probably will not be asked back."
"We'll probably stick with the one-man band on Thursdays and the karaoke," he said.
