Shots broke out at Stillwaters, 152 W. Johnson St., early Monday morning, injuring one man and damaging the bar's front window.
The Madison Police Department is still investigating the incident, which occurred at 1:37 a.m. according to a department news release.
The suspect got into an altercation with another person inside the bar and then went outside, returning with a handgun, according to the release. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the suspect hit the victim with the gun. He then exited the bar, turned and fired multiple rounds through the window, wounding one victim in the arm and leg.
The victim, a 23-year-old man, was treated and released at UW Hospital, according to a report in The Capital Times. None of the other 60 to 100 people in the bar reported injuries to police.
The suspect fled the scene on foot, according to the release. He is described as a slender, 6'4'-6'5' black male in his mid-20's and was last seen wearing a blue baseball cap, a black leather jacket, blue jeans and hiking boots.
The shooting was extremely rare for the downtown area, according to Verveer.
\It's a miracle nobody was more seriously hurt or killed. ... The damage was unbelievable in terms of where each of the shots landed,"" Verveer said. ""There were 10 holes in the bar where bullets landed [and] it was just a miracle they didn't end up in folks' bodies.""
Verveer said the incident occurred during Stillwaters' hip-hop open mic night, which the bar has hosted since December. In his eight years as an alder, he said, he has seen several clubs shut down because of hip-hop-related violence.
""It's sad but true that hip-hop brings out the worst in a small minority of ... fans,"" Verveer said.
However, he added that club owners should continue booking hip-hop acts.
Dick Lyshek, owner of Bull Feathers, 303 N. Henry St., disagreed.
Lyshek said he had stopped serving at his bar Monday morning around 1:30 when a woman came down the stairs crying and saying there was a shooting outside. Lyshek put his bouncer outside the door, locked it to keep the gunman out and called police. After they arrived, he let his remaining customers leave.
Lyshek said the incident did not make him rethink security in his own bar because, ""it's not a matter of security, it's a matter of promotion.""
""This incident is part and parcel to what happens when hip-hop type promotions are done,"" he added.
