Surveillance video shows aftermath of shooting at downtown Louisville restaurant

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A camera at the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville captured the moments someone opened fire at a nearby restaurant, leaving two people dead and hundreds scrambling for safety.

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. 

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 what police said were not life-threatening injuries.

As of Friday, there have still been no arrests.

“This is our community,” Louisville Metro Police Deputy Chief Steve Healey said Sunday. “We cannot do this alone. We need the public’s assistance when they see something, to say something.”

State and local officials were already investigating the business for improperly operating as a nightclub when it was licensed to operate as a restaurant. There were also noise complaints. Neighbors called the business problematic, saying it ran more like a club than a restaurant.

Louisville Metro and Kentucky alcoholic beverage enforcement authorities are investigating allegations the restaurant’s operations exceeded the permissions of its alcohol license. The restaurant had been drawing large, late-night crowds. 

Bars and restaurants have different tiers of licenses based on operating hours and the portion of sales that are food compared to alcohol. The building’s owner, listed in public records as Heather-Lauren Properties LLC, had recently terminated the restaurant’s lease.

The shooting revived a push by city leaders to close bars sooner.

“Like many other cities in America, 2 a.m. is late enough,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said.

After the shooting, Greenberg said he would call on Metro Council to look at whether bars in the city should be allowed to stay open until 4 a.m. But some bar owners and operators have said that’s not the solution.

“I don’t see it making it better by forcing everybody to end at the same time,” said Patrick Gregory, co-owner of Mellwood Tavern. “I think it would make almost more sense to not force a hard, almost bottleneck of time where you are going to have a concentration of issues.”

As for the restaurant itself, the signage is gone, the curtains are closed and the building is for sale. The last images of its open sign lit up are of people sprinting away from gunfire.

Metro Council could be discussing a possible 2 a.m. bar closing time in the coming weeks.

Anyone who may have information about the shooting is asked to call LMPD’s anonymous Crime Tip Line at (502) 574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously online through the department’s Crime Tip Portal by clicking here.

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