**Updated 6 p.m.
One man is dead after two male suspects held patrons at gunpoint at the American Legion tavern on Douglas Avenue early Saturday morning.
The victim has been identified as 47-year-old Joseph D. Walker of Racine, and police are asking anyone who lives or has a business in the neighborhood with surveillance video to contact investigators immediately.
According to Racine police, two male suspects entered the bar in the 1200 block of Douglas Avenue at 1:30 a.m. and demanded money. During the incident, Walker was shot and killed.
Witnesses told The Journal Times the bartender told the suspects she was part of the cleaning crew and couldn’t open the register. After robbing a male customer, the suspects fired two shots. One missed the bartender and one struck Walker.
The suspects fled the scene after the robbery and are only described as black males between 20 and 30 years old.
Police are not releasing the victim’s name at this time.
If anyone has an information, they can leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 262-636-9330, or by texting RACS plus the message to CRIMES (274637) and referring to Tipsoft I.D. #TIP417 with your text message.
The updated J TImes article states this Bar has a sign on the door prohibiting guns. I strongly would urge EVERY single tavern and business in this community to remove those silly signs..CLEARLY the crooks don’t respect the “House rules”. and now Mr Walker is deceased.
This needs to stop,these people need JESUS in their life life!!!!!
I think the city should put a under cover officer in every bar in the city between 10 and 230 every night till the jerkoffs are caught, this has to stop now before anyone else gets killed.
Currently the law allows people to conceal carry in bars if they are not drinking or open carry while drinking with the tavern owners permission. It may be time for bar owners & customers to start taking advantage of these provisions.
This is getting out of control. I’m almost certain this is the same 2 cretins, that have been holding up bars and taverns all over the city. It’s time to amend our concealed carry laws to allow patrons to carry. at least 4 states allow for this provision, and there is zero evidence of misuse of firearms by patrons who are legally permitted to carry.
I of the fastest growing groups of concealed carry users are in fact women, especially single women. Consider this scenario. A woman and a man chatting up in a bar..she leaves after a drink or 2 and he either walks or follows her to her car. Under todays law she would’ve locked her handgun in unloaded in the glove box of her vehicle. The guy turns out to be a rogue and attacks her before she can get into her car, unlock the glove box and load the weapon that she purposed for SELF DEFENSE. Change this law NOW so that she can carry the weapon in her purse..it is constitutional after all, for purposes of self-defense.
Will the next story be me or my family…smh