LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Police have arrested a 38-year-old man for a shooting that left two people dead and hundreds scrambling for safety at a downtown Louisville restaurant last month.

According to a news release from the Louisville Metro Police Department, Arthur Simson (who also goes by "Simpson") was arrested on Friday. He's charged with two counts of murder and four counts of second-degree assault.

Police are calling him "the primary aggressor" in the shootings.

The shooting happened around 3 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 27. That Saturday night was the last time Southern Restaurant and Lounge was open for business. Touted as its "last rodeo," the restaurant closed its location on West Market Street shortly after the gunshots, leaving two men dead and several others injured.

Security footage, obtained by WDRB News from the convention center across the street from the business, shows a crowd of people and cars lined up outside that morning. According to the timestamp on the video, the shooting happened at 3:05 a.m. Louisville Metro Police said there were about 200-300 people at the restaurant when the shooting happened.

Once the gunfire erupts, the video shows people sprinting across Market Street, jumping into cars and taking off. One clip shows someone helping another person into a pickup truck. Over the next several minutes, people can be seen pouring out of the business.

Eight minutes after the shots were fired, police lights can be seen flooding Market and officers sprinting toward the crowd. 

According to court documents, Simson went to police on Aug. 30, turned in the gun used in the shootings and told officers he was working security at Southern Restaurant and Lounge that night. He admitted to being the shooter that was captured on video.

Terraence Bethel, 37, died at the scene. Colby Banks, 35, was taken to UofL Hospital where he later died. Three women and another man had injuries that police said were not life-threatening.

WDRB also learned that Simson was working security during another deadly shooting, one that took place in December 2019 at a hookah lounge in Shively.

That night, Lance Bowman got in a fight with James Mentee Jr., the owner, and shot Mentee.

At the time, police reported a security guard returned fire, hitting Bowman in the ankle. Shively police tell us that security guard was Simson.

Simson didn't face any charges and Bowman was eventually convicted of murder.

Simson is also one of the main witnesses in a deadly shooting that happened at a nightclub Derby Eve in 2012 where Jack Harlow's D.J. Ronnie O'Bannon was charged with murder.

He also has some minor drug and traffic offenses but also a domestic violence conviction.

In 2021, Simson drug a woman out of the shower, punched her in the face and threatened to shoot up the house. He pleaded guilty to a domestic assault cahrge and court records said he's still on probation in that case.

Related Stories:

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.Â