BUSINESS OWNERS BLAST 3000 BAR AFTER SUNDAY SHOOTING

After one man was shot and killed near a bar in Tuscaloosa Sunday morning, neighboring business owners are speaking out about 3000 Bar.

Tuesday, they took their concerns to the Tuscaloosa City Council, telling city leaders they believe there’s so much illegal activity going on at the bar it should be shut down.

Branden Moss, 23, was shot and killed Sunday morning in the parking lot across the street from the bar, located just off Bryant Drive in Tuscaloosa near the University of Alabama campus.

Investigators said Moss was helping a man who was assaulted by four others before he was shot several times by 26-year-old Markis Russell.

Russell was arrested and charged with murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and possessing a firearm when he’s been barred from doing so.

Local business owner Tim Olive said the new bar has changed the face of businesses in the area.

“The way they are operating is controlling the area,” he said. “With the age and clientele they have, and they way they’re conducting business is against the law.”

Olive and several other business owners are asking the city to shut down 3000 Bar for good.

“(The Alcohol Beverage Control Board) needs to pull their alcohol license, and then the city needs to revoke their business license,” Olive said.

City leaders said they’ve got their own concerns about the bar.

“3000 Bar had not renewed their business license,” said District 4 Tuscaloosa City Councilman Matt Calderone. “They were not authorized to operate as a business in the city of Tuscaloosa.”

The shooting happened just after the bar closed at 3 a.m.

“Immediately after a homicide investigation which they did not fully comply with, they went and got their business license from the city of Tuscaloosa,” Calderone said. “We now have to go through a legal process to potentially review that. We need the recommendation of our revenue director to take a look at their business license.”

The bar’s fate will be up for discussion at next week’s City Council meeting.