ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Police said a south city bar owner was killed, early Friday morning when he was struck by a car in front of his business, Bomber O’Brien’s.
Police identified the man as James Wors, 54, of south St. Louis County.
The bar is located on Beck Avenue, in Tower Grove South near the intersection of Kingshighway Boulevard and Chippewa Street.
William Warden, 26, of Imperial, Mo., was charged with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of first-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault. He is being held without bond at the St. Louis City Justice Center.
Three other people — a 21-year-old woman, a 25-year-old man and a 23-year-old man — were also taken into police custody. Charges against the trio are pending.
Customer Matt Kyle left Thursday night before it all unfolded.
“I was up here until maybe 10:30 or so,” said Kyle, in a parking lot across the street, Friday evening. “I can’t remember exactly at what point we left.”
Kyle said nothing unusual happened prior to that.
“No, I didn’t notice anything,” he said. “Maybe there was some agitation going on at the other end of the bar that I wasn’t aware of, but no, I didn’t know of any issues going on.”
St. Louis police said the victims and suspects were involved in a fight that continued outside the bar. During the altercation, the suspects entered a Chevrolet Cruze and intentionally struck two people before driving off. First responders transported the victims to the hospital, where Wors died.
Regular customers were surprised to find O’Brien’s closed, Friday. Bill Hubbs showed up for lunch.
“Great establishment,” said Hubbs. “I’ve been coming here for three years or more, and never had a problem. I come here for lunch and have gotten to know a lot of people here.”
Police located the vehicle in the 4800 block of Oletha Ave., where two of the suspects were taken into custody. A third suspect was taken into custody a short time later, and Warden turned himself into police.
Victoria Chapman arrived early Friday evening, unaware of what happened.
Chapman said, “I have friends who come way more often than I do, and they never have problems. I will definitely be returning, but still, it’s just so sad to hear what happened.”
Someone placed a bouquet of flowers outside the locked door of the business, early Friday evening.
In April of 2018, a parking lot near Bomber O’Brien’s was the location where two off-duty St. Louis police officers were involved in a shooting. After an altercation inside, the confrontation moved to the parking lot, where one officer was wounded, and another officer shot and wounded that gunman.