LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville Metro ABC suspended the alcoholic beverage license of Atomic, a bar on Bardstown Road, following a weekend shooting that drew a large police response to the entertainment district.

The Emergency Suspension Order took effect immediately Tuesday and halts alcohol sales at the business while the case moves through the administrative process.

The suspension follows a weekend of violence and disorder along the Bardstown Road corridor. Louisville Metro Police reported two separate shootings early Sunday morning near Bardstown Road and Grinstead Drive after fights broke out in the area. Both victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police also reported multiple arrests and recovered several firearms during enforcement efforts over the weekend.

Louisville Metro ABC Director Brad Silveria said in a statement the suspension stems from a shooting around 3:43 a.m. Sunday as Atomic staff were clearing patrons from the bar.

He said "two patrons were in an altercation" that began inside Atomic, which escalated "to a shooting incident."

"ABC has preliminarily determined that insufficient security resources prevented the establishment from controlling the large number of patrons on site and that they mishandled the altercation that started inside their building, leading to a shooting incident in a public space," Silveria wrote. "This constitutes a disorderly premises."

Silveria said the suspension was based on not only this incident but also "prior ABC enforcement action" April 26 "involving multiple fights, overcrowding concerns, and violations related to disorderly premises and public safety that also resulted in the injury of an LMPD officer."

Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city will continue taking action when public safety is threatened.

"We will not tolerate conditions at any establishment that threaten the safety of our community," Greenberg said in a statement announcing the suspension.

Silveria said licensed businesses are expected to operate in a manner that protects both patrons and the surrounding neighborhood.

"If you are going to operate, especially in that corridor, safety cannot be at a minimal level, and we won’t tolerate anything less," Silveria said.

Silveria said Metro ABC has talked with the management of Atomic several times about issues.

"If a patron of the establishment was not involved in the situation, we would not issue an emergency suspension order against that establishment," Silveria said.

The action came as city leaders, police and business owners continue to debate the source of recurring late-night violence in the Highlands. Police have linked recent fights and shootings to activity near Atomic and another nearby business, while bar owners have argued many of the people involved are not their customers and are gathering in the area independently of their establishments.

According to the city, the order is the 12th Emergency Suspension Order issued under Mayor Greenberg's Safe Louisville Plan, an initiative aimed at addressing crime and unsafe conditions at licensed establishments.

"If any business or entity, no matter the type, creates and fosters an unsafe environment for its neighbors, then they are subject to the repercussions of their actions," a spokesperson for the Louisville Hospitality Association said in a statement. "We will continue to work with and support our neighbors, our neighborhoods, and our city leaders to guarantee that safety is a top priority for our members, our staff, our patrons, and our community."

Louisville Metro ABC said its investigation remains ongoing.

Bar owner speaks out 

On Monday, before the suspension was issued, Atomic co-owner Dustin Hensley publicly rejected claims that the late-night fights in the Highlands involved patrons from his bar.

"The fights that are occurring throughout the neighborhood do not involve our customers,” Hensley said in a statement. "These are being caused by people that are simply coming into the neighborhood to walk the sidewalks and cruise the streets."

Hensley wrote that it is "very unfortunate" that Bardstown Road bars "are being blamed for things occurring off our properties and in the public right of way where we have no control, rather than the bad actors themselves being held accountable for their actions."

Hensley voiced support for a plan that would not allow cars on the street late at night, something he says Nashville does in their bar district. He said it would make Louisville's bar district "less crowded, reduce noise, and make it easier for LMPD to police."

"People need a place to go. We might as well figure out how to make it work," he said. "...People are not just going to go home and do nothing."

And in response to Tuesday’s suspension, Hensley posted a lengthy statement to social media defending the business. Hensley said Atomic has heavily invested in security measures, including ID scanners, metal detectors, pat-downs, surveillance cameras and off-duty police officers.

"At Atomic, we have always had the largest security team in the city, simply out of an abundance of caution to ensure we are never caught off guard," Hensley wrote. "...we use metal detectors and random pat-downs to prevent alcohol, drugs, or weapons from entering the venue."

He said shutting down bars will not solve the underlying problem and could simply push crowds elsewhere.

"Nobody did anything wrong," Hensley wrote. "We’ve only done good."

Hensley said anyone causing problems at Atomic is quickly removed and held accountable.

"Whether you're part of the .05 percent of people we remove for being disrespectful, fighting, or engaging in behavior that threatens the safety of others, you will be stopped, questioned, detained, and held accountable," Henley said. "We're not messing around. Simply put, the handcuffs are waiting for you at the front door if that is what you're looking for."

The full statement can be found below:

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