Trending
WHEELING – Mark Thomas, co-owner of Ye Olde Alpha restaurant and bar, said he is not concerned about the shooting incident that reportedly occurred outside of his establishment last Saturday, calling it an isolated incident that may not have involved his patrons in the first place.
According to a Wheeling police report, at 2:15 a.m. officers responded to a report of a fight and shot fired outside of the Alpha on Carmel Road.
Thomas, who co-owns the Alpha with Charles Schlegel, said he has met with a detective on the case who told him there are no new leads since it occurred.
“In my own opinion, it was a random act. It had nothing to do with the Alpha,” Thomas said. “It was an unfortunate incident. It could happen anywhere.”
The shooting was called in by two off-duty officers who were working inside the bar at the time. By the time officers arrived, the suspect had fled. According to a Wheeling Police Department report, officers found a shell casing and a handgun in an unspecified location outside.
Two supervising officers, five patrol units and a detective responded to the scene.
Despite the police report stating so, Thomas said he was told by a detective that neither a shell casing nor a gun were found. However, police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger on Tuesday said both items were located at or near the scene.
“We are continuing to investigate and have made no arrests or suspect identification,” Schwertfeger added.
Thomas said the Alpha is a family restaurant that happens to also have a bar.
“Anytime you have a bar you also sometimes have altercations. But there was not one in the Alpha. I’m not sure what happened or who it was,” Thomas said. “This so-called gunshot happened outside of the Alpha – there’s not much we can do there.”
While Thomas said he may consider installing security cameras outside of his establishment, he described the idea of having an officer stationed outside as “absurd.”
“We don’t tolerate anything but sanity, safety and respect for all of our patrons. … Once a person leaves the Alpha, or any bar, it shouldn’t be incumbent upon me to follow them out and make sure there are no issues,” he said.