LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Bar owners across Louisville said they’re doing everything they can to keep customers safe.
Andrew Cochran, 45, was shot and killed outside a west Louisville bar over the weekend.
Louisville Metro Police said the shooting happened just before midnight Saturday in the parking lot of Club Cedar on South 26th Street in the Russell neighborhood.
Andrew Cochran, 45, was shot and killed outside of Club Cedar in west Louisville. (Submitted photo)
The Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has since suspended the club’s license.
The deadly shooting is the latest in a string of recent gun violence near Louisville bars — including a shooting last week at Double Deuce on Broadway and two last year outside Baxter’s 942 near the Highlands.
"First and foremost, we’re heartbroken for the victim, and send our condolences to their family and loved ones," A spokesperson for Mayor Craig Greenberg said in a statement.
"There is no tolerance for this type of behavior in any neighborhood in Louisville. We are grateful for the swift response of LMPD and ABC and through Mayor Greenberg’s Safe Louisville plan we’ll keep collaborating and using new tools at our disposal to crack down on businesses and conditions that create violence."
Todd Moore, who owns Garage Bar and Taj in the NuLu neighborhood, said strong security is essential for any nightlife business.
“Any business in the entertainment district is one gunshot away from being closed down — it doesn’t take but one,” Moore said.
Moore said both of his bars use the same private security company, with multiple guards stationed at entrances and patrolling nearby streets.
“We have a security team — two to three on a given night — and one of them roams back and forth and actually walks the street,” he said.
Cres Bride, who owns Joe’s Older Than Dirt and R Place Pub, said his team also takes safety seriously.
“On busy nights on the weekends, we have six security guards,” Bride said. “That’s for all the entrances and to ensure that all of our patrons feel safe.”
Neither bar owner uses metal detectors, but both said they’re open to the idea if violence near nightlife venues continues.
“We might have to one day get to that,” Moore said. “I hope we don’t, but there is a possibility.”
Moore said he relies on experienced security staff and a network of surveillance cameras that cover every corner of his properties.
“I think I have really qualified security people,” he said. “I’ve got cameras all around the place that are 180 degrees, I’ve got terabytes of recordings on all of it — what more can we really do?”
Anyone with information is asked to make an anonymous call to LMPD's Crime Tip Line at 502-574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department's Crime Tip Portal by clicking here.
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