The owner of Hush Lounge said he saw “mass pandemonium, people running everywhere” outside the popular Birmingham club after gunfire on Saturday night killed four people and left at least 17 others injured.
Ryan Pryor, who opened Hush in 2019 and retired after 20 years as a Birmingham police officer in March, was at his club last night in Birmingham’s Five Points South entertainment area when shots rang out after 11 p.m.
“Unfortunately, some of my patrons who happened to be standing on the sidewalk were injured and killed,” Pryor said in an interview with AL.com Sunday morning. “But I would like to stress that this had nothing to do with Hush itself. My heart goes out to the families, and I stand with Birmingham on correcting this violence. This gun violence has to stop.”
The aftermath of a mass shooting in Birmingham’s Five Points South.Justin Yurkanin
On Sunday morning, Pryor was preparing to reopen the business.
“We need to try to get back to some kind of normalcy,” he said.
Hush, at 2012 Magnolia Ave., is a speakeasy-style lounge located in the underground space at Pickwick Place retail center. The club often features bottle service, parties, DJs and recently celebrated its fifth-year anniversary in June.
Five Points South, near the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is a historic neighborhood with bars and restaurants standing next to churches and apartments.
MORE: Birmingham 5 Points South mass shooting kills 4: What we know today as manhunt continues
Club patrons were waiting to get in line when police said multiple suspects jumped out of a car and fired multiple rounds into the crowd.
On Facebook, Gabriel Eslami described standing outside the club “when all of the sudden over 100 shots went off. I start running then out of no where I can’t feel my leg and I fall.”
Eslami said he stumbled to a nearby diner. A friend then took him to the hospital to get help for a gunshot wound.
“UAB’s Trauma team did amazing work, they got everyone checked and looked at and saved many many lives last night. But please keep those who didn’t make it and their families in your prayers guys…it was an imagine [sic] I’ll never forget,” he wrote.
Three people died at the scene; one person later died in the hospital, according to police.
A pair of shoes left behind in the shooting in Birmingham’s Five Points South on Sept. 21, 2024.Hollis R. Towns
Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said the shooting may have been a murder-for-hire and that more than 100 shell casings were collected at the scene.
Pryor said that he operates Hush with tight security, including personnel who scan identification, pat down patrons and scan them with security wands.
“For the past five years, we’ve had a pretty safe environment for our patrons. That’s why we’ve been around for so long,” he said. “Once people come out, whoever’s outside of our establishment, all I can do is pray for them and wish that they do things the right way. But this is an incident that could’ve happened at a Walmart, could’ve happened at a church.”
Pryor also owns two other bars in Pickwick Place, nearby: Sleek Sports Bar and The Eighty Eight.
In 2017, he talked to news media about using his law enforcement background to ensure safety and regulations at Sleek Sports Bar during a time when other nightclubs were under scrutiny after incidents of gun violence at their locations.
Investigators believe multiple shooters fired shots into a group of people, and witnesses said they heard what sounded like gunfire from a weapon with a “switch.” Police have not yet confirmed the type of weapons used in the incident.
Police have not yet released the identities of the people who were killed or injured, as of Sunday at noon. They also have not publicly identified suspects or people of interest.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin called on Alabama legislators to ban gun conversion devices such as Glock switches, which are small devices that allow users to convert handguns into fully automatic weapons.
“This is not the first occasion, unfortunately, in 2024, where we’ve seen the style of weapons, the number of bullets on the scene possibly converted automatic weapons being used in our streets,’’ Woodfin said Sunday. “This is a solvable problem…. But you’ve got to give us the tools solve these issues.”
Hush Lounge is in one of the largest spaces at Pickwick Place, which is managed by KH Management, a Birmingham-based real estate company. Their office is also located in a suite above Hush Lounge. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Roughly 12 hours after the shooting, Hush Lounge posted a statement in a story on its Instagram page.
“Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to the victims, their families and everyone affected by this senseless act of violence,” the statement reads. “It is heartbreaking that a moment meant for gathering and community was shattered by such tragedy.”
A statement from Hush Lounge in Birmingham, Alabama, after a deadly shooting Sept. 21, 2024.Ruth Serven
On Sunday morning, the sidewalk outside of the club was littered with broken glass and discarded belongings and shoes.
Pryor emphasized that Hush is not closing.
“We’re going to continue to open, and prayerfully continue to be one of Birmingham’s safest and most enjoyable nightspots,” he said.
Local and federal agents are still searching for people with information about the deadly mass shooting. You can submit information to police here. You can also call investigators at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
