EDMONTON – The deadly shooting of a 30-year-old man outside an Old Strathcona bar on Sunday has brought on questions about the safety of Edmonton’s popular nightlife district.
READ MORE: ‘All I heard was gunshots firing’: 1 dead, 1 injured in shooting off Edmonton’s Whyte Ave
Police have said they believe the victim was involved in an argument inside the Tribute Lounge, just off Whyte Avenue, before it moved outside.
“Statistically, (considering) the number of incidents that have happened over the years, it’s been a very safe environment,” Murray Davison of the Old Strathcona Business Association said on Tuesday. “But you know, there will always be fist fights, there’s broken windows and those are the kinds of things that we’ve been trying to desperately change.”
In April of 2015, the Edmonton Public Safety Compliance Team requested a review of Tribute Lounge’s business licence, which resulted in a number of conditions being imposed on the bar. Among them was the mandatory scanning of all patrons as they enter, using a web camera to capture images of everyone that enters. Global News has learned the review was prompted by a number of violent incidents which occurred at the establishment.
While the Old Strathcona Business Association wouldn’t comment directly on the weekend shooting, it said it hopes a couple of proposed initiatives, like closing parts of Whyte Avenue to vehicles late at night, will help clear sidewalk congestion and reduce tensions among late night visitors to the strip.
READ MORE: Family of man shot and killed in Old Strathcona doesn’t believe it was gang-related
The Public Safety Compliance Team said it is waiting for more information to determine whether the business practices of any area venues were contributing factors to the shooting which left Amin Abdullahi dead.
With files from Shallima Maharaj.