Bouncer and father of six killed in shooting at hookah bar in Ukrainian Village
By MARISSA PERLMAN
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CHICAGO (WBBM) — The victim of a New Year’s Eve shootout at a hookah lounge in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village was a bouncer at the lounge.
Latoya Wade said she had to see for herself the space where her son’s father lost his life.
“I just had to come and see where this bar was,” she said. “I just couldn’t believe it.”
Austin McAllister, a father of six, personal trainer and army veteran, was working as a bouncer at the Lyons Den Hookah Lounge on New Year’s Eve.
“Hardworking, he served the country, he was out here trying to make a living for his children,” Wade said.
Police said overnight the suspect forced his way into the hookah lounge with a gun. When that suspect was not allowed inside, he opened fire at the doorway.
Police say two men fired back.
“The guy couldn’t get into the bar last night,” Wade said. “He was telling him he couldn’t get in and the guy just took his life.”
She said McAllister later died at Stroger Hospital.
Police say another man in his 20s was also hurt but is expected to be OK.
Video from outside the lounge shows dozens of first responders closing down the street to traffic.
Wade shared she is having a hard time processing.
“Just go find another bar to go to,” she said. “Why would you take someone’s life because you couldn’t get in? Oh my God! I can’t believe this.”
Records show the hookah lounge opened on Division in 2020. Online it advertises a BYOB New Year’s Eve party.
Inside the decorations are still left hanging from the celebration cut short.
For weeks, Wade says she had been warning her son’s father that his job could be dangerous.
“You just never know,” she said.
And now it’s too late.
“It’s getting dangerous,” she said. “Senseless killings one after the other. It’s too much.”
Police say surveillance video shows the suspect getting into a light colored SUV and heading west on Division Street after the shooting.
CBS 2 has reached out to the Lyons Den for comment but has not heard back.
McAllister’s twin brother was also working at the lounge at the time and saw the shooting. Police recovered at least one gun on scene and are still reviewing surveillance video.
No one is in custody.
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