Man arrested for allegedly shooting three women outside hookah lounge near Temple University

A man police say shot at a security guard and injured three women after a dispute outside a hookah lounge near Temple University’s campus was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and related crimes.

Eryk Leach-Gilliam, 23, was arrested Sunday for shooting three women outside the Hubble Bubble Hookah Lounge at 10th and Diamond streets early Sunday morning, the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said.

Authorities said the shooting happened around 2:30 a.m. Sunday outside the lounge, which is near the practice facility for Temple’s football team.

The shooting was sparked by a fight at the lounge, after several people had been asked to leave as it was closing, authorities said. Outside, after he was escorted out by a security guard, Leach-Gilliam pulled out a gun and held it upward, authorities said. An armed security guard fired multiple shots at Leach-Gilliam, who returned fire.

While the security guard, who was not identified, was not hit, three women were injured. A 20-year-old woman was shot in the arm, a 19-year-old woman was shot in the leg, and a 47-year-old woman was shot in the arm.

The three women, who were also not identified, were all transported to the hospital.

Leach-Gilliam was hit in the body and left arm and was taken to Temple University Hospital in a private vehicle. He had surgery and was listed in critical condition.

It is unclear if the security guard fired the shots that hit Leach-Gilliam. The security guard and Leach-Gilliam are the only ones confirmed to have fired their guns, authorities said.

Guns that belonged to the armed security guard and Leach-Gilliam were recovered at the scene of the shooting. Leach-Gilliam has no prior criminal history and is a licensed gun owner, the District Attorney’s Office said.

In the wake of the shooting, the Temple University Police Association criticized university leadership — President Jason Wingard, board chair Mitchell Morgan, and Jennifer Griffin, Temple’s vice president of public safety — for not addressing staffing issues within the police department that it says affected campus safety.

“Well over a year ago, we began to raise the alarm regarding the staffing crisis and the devastating consequences of neglecting this problem. We have been ignored, disrespected, and shut out of conversations with high-level Temple administrators regarding safety,” the association wrote in a statement.

A spokesperson for Temple University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Sunday morning shooting comes amid a gun violence crisis that continues to surge across the city and growing concerns of gun violence near the university’s campus.

As of Thursday, 326 people have been shot this year in Philadelphia. Of those victims, 67 have died.