Washington County bartender recounts how biker group "brutally and savagely" beat patron
The violent scene unfolded at Forty Bar and Grille in Washington County over the weekend. The bar's owner said she believes it was a targeted attack, and sources said the victim may have been in a different biker group.
"They had clubs, bats, knives, guns, I'm assuming," bartender Julia Quartur said.
Quartur recounts the terrifying moments she witnessed early Sunday morning. She said dozens of motorcycle club members known as the War Dogs targeted one of the bar's regulars, beating him under this booth.
"They all just jumped on him and beat him so brutally and savagely. Like probably 15, 20 of them. They beat him until he literally was not moving on the ground," Quartur said.
"What did you do?" KDKA-TV's Jen Borrasso asked.
"I'm screaming, me and my other bartender behind the bar, screaming on the top of our lungs to stop, stop, please stop, and just feeling absolutely helpless," she said.
Quartur says she, her coworkers and a handful of customers were so scared, they scrambled for shelter in the basement.
"I almost felt just frozen in fear and I've never had such a sense of helplessness in my entire life," she said.
"They just started destroying everything on the back deck, throwing bottles, throwing chairs through the doors, shattered everything," she added.
At one point, sources said gunshots were fired outside of the bar. No one was hit.
The bar's co-owner, Cheyenne Dennison, called 911 and rushed to help her employees.
"I'm screaming for (the bartenders), trying to get their attention, I'm screaming for them to get out of here," Dennison said.
"They finally came creeping up the steps. I knew they were OK. That was my number one thing coming here, is I wanted to make sure my employees were OK," she added.
Dennison says the motorcyle club members were gone when police arrived, and so was the victim.
"I don't know what caused this. I don't know what would cause anybody to act the way they did," she said.
State police are investigating.
That attack is prompting local leaders to cancel an upcoming motorcycle event in the nearby city of Washington. Rally on Main had been scheduled for Saturday. City leaders say that will no longer happen, but they plan to bring it back next year.
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