Gunman Shoots Up Strip Club With AK-47 After DJ Refuses To Play Song

Philadelphia police are looking for a 21-year-old man who fired into a local strip club after getting into an argument with club management, WPVI-TV/DT Philadelphia reports.

On May 11, Henry Pettigrew (pictured) and another man were escorted out of the Purple Orchid Gentleman’s Club after arguing with club management over the DJ’s refusal to play a song they had requested.

As Pettigrew and the man were being escorted out of the establishment, they mistook a customer who was walking inside the club as a bouncer and assaulted him. As that man tried to escape in his SUV, Pettigrew allegedly emerged with an AK-47 and shot at the fleeing vehicle. The driver was hit above his right hip.

“Fortunately where it hit him, it hit the flesh of his body and it didn’t hit any vital organs,” Lt. Johnny Walker of the Philadelphia Police Department said.

Here is more from WPVI-TV/DT Philadelphia:

Surveillance video then shows the suspect running into the club while brandishing the rifle. He moves to open a door but slips and falls, due to being very intoxicated, police say.

The man then gets up, opens the door, brings up the gun and opens fire.

The video shows multiple muzzle flashes and debris flying as round after round are fired.

“Just wildly, obviously with an AK-47 with a banana clip, it can fire multiple rounds at a high rate of speed very quickly,” Walker said.

He then went into the bar area. The DJ dove for cover as Pettigrew fired indiscriminately.

“You see one of the bullets actually strike the mirror right where [the DJ’s] head would have been, so we’re very fortunate the person did not get struck by the gunfire,” Walker said.

The camera then shows the gunman turning around and running out of the club.

Police say Pettigrew and his getaway driver, whose identity is unknown to them, got away in a light colored sedan, possibly a Hyundai or Mitsubishi.

With the gunman and getaway driver still on the loose, a number of workers at the Purple Orchid quit their jobs.

Henry Pettigrew is described as a black male standing 5’11″ tall, weighing 180 pounds. He also has a thin beard.

Anyone with information is urged to call Philadelphia Police at 215-686-TIPS (8477), text a tip to PPD TIP (773847) or through PhillyPolice.com.