Shiloh police investigating gunshots fired toward tavern

Shiloh police Monday night were investigating gunshots fired toward a tavern that left one man with a welt and damaged a parked car.

Patrons at The Hanger, 2415 Lebanon Ave., were outside for a cigarette break when someone fired shots toward the bar around 9:15 p.m.

“Something hit my back. I’m not sure if it was stone off the wall or whatever,” George Crews of Shiloh said around 9:45 p.m. “I heard, I thought, three pops. I ducked down and then came inside.”

Crews said he thought the shots came from across Lebanon Avenue, where an apartment complex is located just west of Whiteside Middle School grounds.

“It’s just a welt,” Crews said. He said he didn’t hear any voices or see any passing cars or muzzle flashes before the shots rang out.

No one else was reported injured. The only other visible damage at the scene was a bullet hole in the bottom of the rear windshield of a black Chrysler sedan parked near the entrance of the bar.

“George said he got hit, and I just flopped down beside the car and thought ‘What the hell?’” said a witness who asked that his name not be used. “Unbelievable.”

Shiloh police officers at the scene scanned the parking lot searching for evidence of additional bullet impacts. An officer wearing blue latex gloves returned to his squad car holding small metal fragments in one hand but the supervising officer at the scene did not release any information about the incident Monday night.

Return to BND.com for more on this developing story.

This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 10:30 PM with the headline "Shiloh police investigating gunshots fired toward tavern."