A Philadelphia bar owner seated outside a nearby restaurant on Sunday was caught on camera pulling a gun on a black man who denounced the patrons for their lack of social distancing.

The tense encounter unfolded after the unidentified passerby stopped his bike near Nick’s Roast Beef and began calling out the customers who were outdoor dining, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

“Social distancing! No one is wearing a mask!” the unidentified man yelled out, witness Liz Krieger, 34, who was seated at the eatery, told the newspaper.

Customers shouted at the man to leave and Jamie Atlig, who owns the nearby Infusion Lounge, got up to confront him, the report said.

The black man yelled “MAGA privilege” at Atlig, who shot back, “Trump 2020!” according to Krieger.

Atlig then pulled out his gun, prompting some customers, including Krieger to rush to the black man’s defense.

“Put it the f–k away,” a woman could be heard on video telling Atlig.

“He’s doing nothing. He’s doing f—-ing nothing. He had a f—ing bike lock,” she continues, according to the video, which was posted to Twitter by an intern of Philadelphia City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas.

As quickly as the confrontation escalated, Krieger said, within seconds, Atlig put his gun away.

Krieger told The Philadelphia Inquirer that other customers screamed the black man had a gun, when in actuality, she said, it was the man’s bike lock.

Robert Gamburg, a lawyer for Atlig, told the newspaper his client is licensed to carry a gun and took it out after the man “reached behind his back for an object.”

“He’s a business owner and he was being threatened,” Gamburg said. “Mr. Atlig unholstered his licensed firearm, defused the situation, and sat back down.”

Krieger disputes that account, telling the paper the man only took out his bike lock after Atlig pulled out his gun.

“A man had a gun pulled on him for speaking the truth. We weren’t social distancing,” Krieger said.

“He was completely in the right to be yelling at us — and if I hadn’t been there, this is how black people are shot and it’s claimed later that he had a bike lock on him and people thought it was a gun.”

Philadelphia police are probing the incident.

City Councilman Isaiah Thomas, who also shared the video to Twitter, wrote, “After a weekend of too much gun violence, more guns is not the answer.

“We need more solutions before we have more problems! #EnoughIsEnough”

Share this article:

Source: Read Full Article