Pittsburgh-area bar where shooting killed 2, injured 7 didn't have liquor license

PENN HILLS, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Pittsburgh-area bar where two people were shot to death and seven others were injured was operating without a liquor license, police said. 

Investigators are consulting with the district attorney's office to determine if any further action is necessary against the Ballers Hookah Lounge and Cigar Bar on Laketon Road, Allegheny County police said in an update on Monday. 

Police Superintendent Chris Kearns said Penn Hills police had been at the bar for two other shootings in the past month or so, though neither was deadly. 

Two people, 44-year-old Nathaniel Smiley Jr. and 28-year-old Stephanie Stuart, were killed when gunfire broke out at the bar around 3 a.m. Sunday. Seven others were injured. As of Monday, police said five had been released from the hospital and while the other two are still hospitalized, they're expected to survive. 

Police called the investigation ongoing and said detectives are still working to identify and interview witnesses. Investigators believe a fight broke out, leading to the shooting. On Sunday, Kearns said police believe two or more shooters are responsible.

The bar is in the middle of two daycares. One parent said they felt uneasy dropping off their children on Monday morning. 

"I was like oh my God, that's right next-door to where my grandkids go to daycare and their mother works here," neighbor Toni Taylor said. "It's scary to know that my grandkids could've been out here or their mother," she added.

Ballers Hookah Lounge and Cigar Bar has been open for six months. Robert Butler, who lives across the street, said it was a quiet neighborhood until the business opened. 

"I knew it was going to be something sooner or later. Every time they come out of there drunk you can hear them late at night, it be 4, 5 in the morning when people sleep," Butler said. 

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board says a business is required to have a license if it sells alcohol, which includes offering it as part of the membership or with a hookah package. However, if it's free, without any conditions attached, a license is not required.  

If you have any information about what happened, you're asked to call county police at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.