Update: 2 dead, 2 injured in Hayward hookah lounge shooting
HAYWARD -- Two people were killed and two others injured in what appears to be a targeted shooting outside a hookah lounge in Hayward early Saturday morning, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said.
The shooting happened at the former Asli Hookah Lounge & Smoke Shop at 21272 Mission Blvd., which the sheriff's office said had been recently shut down by the city after being designated as a nuisance and illegal business. All the signage at the establishment had been taken down but the business had been operating even though it appeared it was closed.
RELATED: Hayward neighbors disturbed by deadly shooting outside hookah lounge
The shooting was reported at 1:38 a.m. Deputies responded around 1:43 a.m. and found an unresponsive person and shell casings on the ground. The person was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said. Dispatchers then received calls from two local hospitals reporting three gunshot wound victims arriving. One of the victims died from injuries at a hospital.
The sheriff's office said the shooting was not random. It appeared two people showed up, some kind of altercation ensued and a shootout began. No suspect information was available but the sheriff's office said there was no ongoing threat to the public.
The sheriff's office said the department's crime prevention and reduction unit had been dealing with the problems attributed to the hookah lounge for the last two years. The facility did not have permits to sell alcohol or tobacco.
"Our crime prevention and crime reduction unit has been out here a number of times over the past two years along with the Board of Zoning Adjustments and Code Enforcement," said Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lt. Tya Modeste. "This place has received multiple fines. As you see from the front of the building, they've taken their signage down as if the business was closed, but they have continued to operate."
Mission Boulevard in Hayward was closed to traffic Saturday morning between Cherry Way and Grove Way during the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office's confidential tip line at (510) 667-3622.
