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UPDATE TO STORY (7/18 at 11:15 am): According to AL.com, the five victims still hospitalized from Monday morning’s shooting are improving. A DCH Regional Medical Center representative said one person is still in critical condition, two are in fair condition, and two more of the patients are doing well and could be released today.UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 6:20 pm): One victim in today’s shooting is a member of the University of Alabama football team’s support staff. The Tuscaloosa News has confirmed Kelvin Sigler was treated and released from the hospital for a bullet wound. A high school football coach from Mobile County is also among the victims.
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UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 4:50 pm):
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Nathan Van Wilkins, 44 years old, of Northport has been charged with additional charges of 1 Count of Attempted Murder and 1 Count of Shooting into Occupied Dwelling in relation to the shooting in Northport. Wilkins was already in the Tuscaloosa County Jail pending bond for the shooting that occurred in downtown Tuscaloosa. This will bring his total bond amount to $2,000,000.00. and his total charges to 18 Counts of Attempted Murder, 1 Count of Shooting into Occupied Building, and 1 Count of Shooting into Occupied Dwelling.
At Approximately 11:40 pm Northport Police Department Responded to a shot fired call in the 4100 Block of 4th Ave E. Officers were told the victim heard a knock at the door and when he opened it the suspect started shooting. A 30 year old male victim was transported to DCH for gunshot wounds. Shell casings were recovered and ballistic evidence matched them to the shell casings recovered at the scene of the downtown Tuscaloosa shooting -
UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 3:55 pm):
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New mugshot taken today of Nathan Van Wilkins, charged in the #Tuscaloosa shootings. His bond is $1.8 million. pic.twitter.com/F6R0KtkDom/F6R0KtkD -
UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 3:30 pm)
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From @TuscaloosaPD: Bond for Nathan Wilkins, suspect in Tuscaloosa bar shooting, has been raised to $1.8 million. -
According to the Tuscaloosa News, Nathan Van Wilkins, 44, is also being charged with one account of shooting into an occupied building. He has also been charged with one account of attempted murder, but investigators are working to obtain 16 more.
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Officials at DCH Regional Medical Center, where this morning’s victims are being treated, say that only five of the seventeen victims were hit by bullets. The rest were injured by shrapnel and debris.
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UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 3:15 pm):
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Nathan Van Wilkins will have a $1,730,000.00 Bond once all 17 Attempted Murder warrants and other charges are served. pic.twitter.com/0nlLRfnHom/0nlLRfnH -
UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 2:50 pm): AL.com reports that this is not Nathan Wilkins’s first run-in with the law. The man who allegedly shot at and injured 17 people at a Tuscaloosa bar early this morning has also faced charges of third-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, and criminal surveillance. Police now suspect this morning’s incident may be in relation to another shooting at a residence in Northport.
UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 2:15 pm): According to the Tuscaloosa News, authorities have identified the shooter as Nathan Wilkins. Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson says Wilkins faces an array of charges, including attempted murder and shooting into an occupied building.
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#FOX6 EXCLUSIVE: #Tuscaloosa shooting suspect being lead in for questioning credit: WBRC Photographer Wil Raines pic.twitter.com/V6m4YfEsom/V6m4YfEs -
UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 1:25 pm): Fox 6 reports the gunman says he opened fire on the bar with the hopes that police would shoot him. Police say they will not officially release a name or photo until they decide to formally press charges, but WBRC photographer Wil Raines managed to grab a shot as the suspect was being led in for questioning.
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UPDATE TO STORY (7/17 at 12:30): According to authorities, the suspect has turned himself in. The Tuscaloosa News says the man was taken into custody after he walked into a Jasper FedEx store and confessed to two people, including a police officer. The store owner says the suspect identified himself as “Nathan”. He told the FedEx owner he was high on drugs when he wounded 17 people at the Copper Top bar early this morning. The Tuscaloosa News also reports that five of last night’s victims are still in the hospital. Police will hold a press conference at 1 pm to release further details.
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17 wounded in shooting at Tuscaloosa bar http://usat.ly/M6fpXm m -
An early morning shooting at the Copper Top bar in downtown Tuscaloosa has left at least 17 injured, with police still looking for the gunman. Witnesses say there were around 80-90 people inside — most of them there for a weekly pool tournament — when the suspect opened fire. Police believe the shooter was targeting someone inside the bar.
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**Update**
At approximately 12:29 am the Tuscaloosa Police Department began receiving 911 calls concerning an individual shooting into the Copper Top bar. The first officer arrived on scene two minutes after the first call to 911 and found several individuals wounded. As a result of the shooting seventeen individuals were transported to DCH Tuscaloosa by paramedics and private vehicles for treatment. The suspect fled on foot and has not been located. The suspect is described as a white male 5’7” to 5’9”, stocky build. We are asking anyone with information regarding the shooting or shooter to contact the Tuscaloosa Police Department at 205-349-2121, the Tuscaloosa Metro Homicide Unit at 205-349-0518, or Crime Stoppers at 205-752-7867. -
A grainy surveillance camera video shows a man wearing a baseball cap calmly walking down the sidewalk carrying a gun, which police report was some sort of military-style assault weapon. Police say he walked uphill from 23rd St. toward the Copper Top, then stood outside the bar and observed for a few minutes before firing through a window. As customers ran out of the bar, the suspect opened fire again and left in the same direction he came from. The Anniston Star reports pools of blood outside and a trail of bloody footprints on the sidewalk for about two blocks leading away from the nightclub.
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AP VIDEO: Witnesses recount bar shooting in Tuscaloosa, Ala., that left at least 17 injured: http://apne.ws/Q25PJR R -PP -
AL.com spoke with Joel Cassidy, a UA grad student who was at Copper Top when the shooter arrived. He says everyone in the bar dropped to the ground and hid under tables after the first shots were fired. He also noted that before the incident, there had no been any fights or disturbances in the bar.
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As of 10 am, no deaths have been reported, although one victim is reported to be in “very critical” condition. At a press conference this morning, the Tuscaloosa Police Department said three of those injured are University of Alabama students. According to the Crimson White, two UA students were treated and released by DCH Regional Medical Center, while another was admitted to a regular room with non-life-threatening injuries. Interim UA President Dr. Judy Bonner released a statement this morning saying the University of Alabama Police Department took precautionary measures in the areas west of campus and offered assistance to the Tuscaloosa Police Department following the shooting.
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Fire officials hosing down scene of mass bar shooting in #Tuscaloosa. 17 people hurt; police looking for the shooter. pic.twitter.com/Fsirfb3jom/Fsirfb3j -
This morning, the Copper Top’s windows had been blacked out, with fire officials cleaning up the scene.
