Edgewater Hookah Lounge Shut Down By Police After Fatal Shooting Outside

Samah Hookah Lounge could be closed for up to six months after a man was killed and a woman wounded in a drive-by shooting after leaving the business, police said.

EDGEWATER — Police ordered a North Side hookah lounge to close for safety reasons after two people were shot, one fatally, outside the business last week.

Police issued a summary closure order for Samah Hookah Lounge, 1219 W. Devon Ave., on Aug. 1, according to a notice posted in the front window.

Summary closure is a tool police can use to shut down a business they believe presents a public safety threat.

The shooting happened around 1:45 a.m. July 30, police said.

A 30-year-old man and 20-year-old woman were walking on the sidewalk in the 1300 block of West Devon Avenue when a black car pulled up and someone inside the car began firing, police said in an incident report.

The man was shot 10 times and was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The woman was shot in her left leg and was transported to St. Francis in good condition, police said.

No one is in custody for the shooting, police said.

Police officers were monitoring the area outside the hookah lounge the night of the shooting as the business has previously been the source of violence, Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) wrote in an update to neighbors. It is suspected that the shooter targeted the victims as they were leaving Samah Hookah Lounge around closing time, according to the alderperson.

“This is not the first shooting to take place outside this business,” Hadden said.

The hookah lounge is on the south side of Devon Avenue, placing it in Edgewater and the 48th Ward. Since it borders Rogers Park and the 49th Ward, both ward offices are working with police on the case, Hadden said.

The hookah lounge is closed until further notice, according to its Instagram. The owner did not respond to request for comment.

To reopen the business, the owner can request a hearing in front of the mayor to contest that a public safety threat occurred or to argue that operating the business doesn’t pose ongoing safety issues, according to the police order.

If the owner doesn’t request a hearing, the business can be closed for up to six months, according to the order.

It’s against the law for anyone to conduct business at the closed hookah lounge or tamper with the sign posted on the door. People who do so can receive fines between $1,000-$10,000 or go to jail for up to six months for each offense, according to the police order posted on the door.

Samah Hookah Lounge is a late night spot serving hookah, the traditional Indian water tobacco pipe. It bills itself as a bring-your-own-alcohol establishment.

Samah opened in 2004 in Wrigleyville and became a popular spot that attracted NBA superstars. The Wrigleyville location burned down in a 2013 fire, but the Edgewater location had already opened by then, according to DNAinfo Chicago.

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