By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
A Bay Minette man has been arrested in connection with an early-Sunday melee during which three people were shot inside an Atmore establishment that had previously been shut down because of violent acts and numerous violations of other city ordinances.
Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks reported shortly after noon Tuesday that Angi Lynn Baker, 34, was located and taken into custody in Pensacola, Fla. around 11:30 a.m. Baker is charged with three counts of attempted murder.
The shooting took place at Assembly Hall, former site of the Chick-A-Dee Club, shortly after midnight Saturday. The establishment is located along Ashley Street, near its intersection with Carver Avenue, in an area known locally as “The Block.”
“We do have a person of interest, and we are actively and aggressively pursuing several leads,” Police Chief Chuck Brooks said. “You can go all the way back to 2010 and document cases of juvenile drinking, prior assaults and other incidents that happened there.”
More than 150 people were reportedly at the Assembly Hall — many of them in the parking lot, despite a city ordinance against loitering at such places — when police arrived. Numerous fights broke out after the shots were fired, Brooks said, adding that the shooting seemed to have evolved from a fight between two or more women inside the club.
“When our officers arrived, there were people fighting everywhere, inside and outside,” Brooks said. “There’s not supposed to be any alcohol served there, but there were several beer bottles outside and inside.”
When officers entered the building, they found three people — all males in their 30s or 40s — who had been shot. All three were taken by ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital, where one was treated and released.