3 hurt in gunfire outside hip-hop concert

Monday, May 12, 2003 | 11:12 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

At least two gunmen were being sought early today after police said they opened fire with semiautomatic weapons outside a hip-hop show at the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas.

Three men were wounded, but none of their injuries was life-threatening, Metro Police Lt. Brian Evans said. One was shot in the foot, one in the ankle and one was grazed in the arm. Each was being treated at University Medical Center.

"We're very lucky. All the injuries are very minor," Evans said of the shooting outside the cafe, which is separate from the Hard Rock hotel-casino.

Witnesses reported more than 30 shots were fired about 3:30 a.m. in the parking lot near the large neon guitar sign at Paradise Road and Harmon Avenue, a few blocks east of the Las Vegas Strip.

Evans said patrons dove to the floor and ran for the doors when a large man in his 20s waved a Tech-9 semiautomatic machine pistol during a music show sponsored by a promoter. No shots were fired inside, and no one inside was wounded.

A Tech-9 can be fitted with a 50-round clip.

Evans said he did not know if the gunman said anything before walking out of the cafe and opening fire.

"We don't know if it's gang-related, drug-related or a beef between two people," Evans said, adding that police found 9-millimeter bullet casings outside the cafe and across Harmon Avenue.

At least six parked cars were damaged by gunfire, Evans said, and the owner of at least one other vehicle called Las Vegas police later to report it had been hit by gunfire while driving through the intersection.

One man who said he had been in the cafe when the shooting occurred said he "didn't know what was happening because the music was so loud. I heard a pop-pop-pop noise. Most of the people dove under the bar and a lot of people were screaming. It got all chaotic and people ran."

The club patron, who refused to give his name, said there had been a fight inside earlier in the night but he wasn't sure if it had involved the gunman.

"It was crowded and I couldn't really see what was going on at the time," he said.

He said Sunday night at the Hard Rock Cafe is hip hop music night.

"It's a cool club and there are not a lot of clubs that have hip hop in Las Vegas," he said.

The Hard Rock Cafe is separate from the Hard Rock Hotel and casino and has different management than the hotel, officials said.

The cafe's management could not be reached for comment this morning.