Cellphone video circulating on social media shows a man being choked and wrestled to the ground inside Legacy Restaurant and Lounge before he is dragged outside, an altercation that appears to have taken place before a gunman opened fire into a crowd outside the bar and injured four people.
Police arrested Tyshawn M. Gray, of Norfolk, on scene shortly after the Aug. 5 shooting and say he is the only suspect. Two sources familiar with the shooting investigation who have seen the video identified the man seen dragged through the bar as Gray.
The video begins with a man being choked from behind by another man in a black and white tie-dye shirt. The altercation occurs in the middle of a large crowd inside a bar, with the Legacy logo clearly visible on the back wall behind them.
The man in the tie-dye shirt begins pushing the other man, arm still around his neck, toward the exit before he falls. The man in the tie-dye shirt shoves others away before dragging the man along the floor by his collar.
It’s unclear what preceded the altercation, or what time the video was taken. The shooting occurred around 1:30 a.m. Court documents state that Gray, 25, opened fire after he was kicked out of a bar.
The video originally was shared to a social media user’s Instagram story in the immediate aftermath of the incident, and a second user recorded that video about 11 hours later and reposted it to their public feed Aug. 5. The Virginian-Pilot is describing the actions seen on the video rather than publishing it because the person who originally recorded the video did not give the paper permission to share it.
Alex Stokes, one of four co-owners of Legacy, declined to comment on the video or whether the man in the tie-dye shirt was working as security that night.
“I wasn’t there that night, so I can’t confirm anything,” Stokes said last Friday.
Legacy’s conditional use permit application, filed with the city in May 2021, lists Nightowl Tactical Security Solutions as its contracted security provider. Matthew Johnson, vice president of Nightowl, said it never was hired by Legacy and never did any work for it. Johnson said he couldn’t recall how the relationship with Legacy ended because it was so long ago.
The security plan Legacy filed with the city as part of its application to operate as a nightclub says it has 16 cameras, including three outdoors, and will employ two uniformed sheriff’s deputies or police officers on site, an officer or deputy in a vehicle parked in front of the venue, and “private club security guard outside to control any disorder in front of the venue itself.”
Asked if Legacy had a private security company working the night of the shooting, Stokes said it did. Pressed for the company’s name, Stokes declined to answer without his lawyer present. Attempts to follow up with Stokes this week were unsuccessful.
The shooting has led to a crackdown on some nightlife establishments, with the city reviewing permits for a wide swath of businesses, a process some owners say is unfair. But it’s unclear to what extent the city has reviewed whether Legacy was in compliance with its own security plan.
The video of the altercation is circulating at Norfolk City Hall. Mayor Kenny Alexander and City Manager Chip Filer said they had seen the video but declined to comment.
“I believe the video speaks for itself,” Filer said.
City spokesperson Kelly Straub refused to provide any information on whether Legacy has been shut down, is operating under different circumstances, or is under review, because “this is an ongoing investigation.” The bar was open and serving customers this week.
Other city officials deferred questions to the City Attorney’s office, which did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Legacy’s compliance with its security plan.
A spokesperson for the Norfolk Police Department declined to comment on the video in general or to identify the people depicted, citing an active investigation.
One local nightlife security expert said the actions depicted in the video do not follow proper de-escalation techniques.
Anthony Turner Sr., owner and director of training for G7 Security and Weapons Academy, said licensed security personnel are trained to use words first before putting their hands on a subject. Any business looking to hire security, whether armed or unarmed, has to employ a company licensed by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, said Turner, whose company has trained many private security guards in Hampton Roads over the past 15 years. The authority to use hands is given by the Department of Criminal Justice Services, he said.
“You would have to use only the amount of force that’s used against you or used to handle the situation. At no time should someone be using a chokehold,” Turner said in a text.
Turner said his company did not work with Legacy.
The full video of the altercation also shows some police response to the shooting. Police vehicles block the road, preventing cars from leaving the parking deck of the Hilton hotel — which opens onto Plume Street — for a period of time. Police are shown gathered on Plume between Legacy and the parking deck.
In an interview, a witness who works in the downtown area described hearing raised voices coming from Plume Street before gunfire. The witness, who requested to remain anonymous due to the proximity of their place of work to the crime scene, said they were leaving work with several others. Just as they stepped out from around a corner, they looked toward the Hilton parking deck to see a group of 10 to 15 people gathered closely together about 20 feet away.
“We hear screaming, I see people getting, like, rowdy and then all of a sudden seven shots went off. After those shots, it took us a second to register (what happened), and that’s when we started running,” they said, adding that they didn’t see the gunman. “There were seven shots, a pause, and then five more shots” before they were able to get inside a nearby business for safety.
One of the windows of the Starbucks on Granby Street was shot out in the incident, which was boarded up in the following days. The witness said their car was parked right in front of the coffee shop, meaning if they had left a minute sooner they likely would have been in the line of fire.
“We were so close my ears were ringing — I’ve never been that close to gunshots in my life,” the witness said.
Daniel Berti contributed to this report.
Gavin Stone, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com
