Atlanta files motion to shut down Buckhead nightclub Elleven45 after deadly shooting
ATLANTA - The City of Atlanta has filed motions to have Buckhead's Elleven45 Lounge shut down after a deadly Mother's Day shooting.
"The office of the city solicitor Raines Carter has opened an investigation into their licensing and into some of the incidents that have taken place since they’ve been in operation," said Atlanta City Councilman Michael Bond.
Six people were shot on May 12. Two of those six people died, including a 21-year-old Albany State volleyball player named Mari Creighton.
Atlanta police said a fight inside the lounge on the corner of Peachtree Road and Bennett Street escalated to gunfire just after 2 a.m.
Last Sunday, Creighton's family held a balloon release to mourn a life that was cut short. Creighton was just one semester away from graduating.
"Atlanta is an open city known for its hospitality, known for its tourism and to have someone just seemingly come in unchecked and was able to assault and murder two people is very, very disturbing," Bond said.
New documents filed by the Superior Court of Georgia showed the City was seeking a Temporary Restraining Order against Elleven45 Lounge, its manager and property owners.
Bond said a pending investigation could result in the establishment losing its licenses, and even some potential jail time, if the manager and owners are found to be negligent and criminally liable.
"When things happen outside of a club, it is kind of an ambiguous kind of no man’s land of who has that type of liability," he said.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, Elleven45 may be shut down for good.
"Not only is the club liable, potentially because it happened within their footprint, but they’re the ones who allowed the shooter to come into the interior," Bond said.
Bond told FOX 5 Atlanta police were assisting in the solicitor’s investigation by tracking the number of incidents that had taken place at the nightclub.
FOX 5 reached out to the department for those numbers. We also reached out to officials with the lounge for comment. We are still waiting to hear back.