Area woman among fatalities as 9 are shot at hookah bar

Police said the Penn Hills establishment was operating without a license.

A Penn Hills hookah bar where nine people were shot over the weekend, two fatally, was operating without a liquor license, authorities said Monday.

Allegheny County Police, who are investigating the shooting early Sunday at Ballers Hookah Lounge and Cigar Bar, said they will consult with the District Attorney’s Office about the lack of a license.

First Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Spangler said the office will touch base with the state Liquor Control Enforcement Board.

The shooting broke out at the bar in the 3500 block of Laketon Road, near Frankstown Road, leaving a man and woman dead just before 3 a.m.

Police said early indications are that a fight inside the bar spurred multiple people to open fire.

Authorities on Monday identified the deceased victims as Nathaniel Smiley Jr., 44, of Pittsburgh and Stephanie Stuart, 28, of Mc-Keesport.

Of the seven people who survived, five have been treated and released from the hospital, county police said Monday.

The final two victims, a man and woman, remain hospitalized but are expected to survive, police said.

The bar is located in what has long been known as the Laketon Professional Building 2.

It and the adjacent former Laketon Professional Building 1 have been owned by a limited liability corporation, Bucci Ventura Mullen, since November 2022, according to Allegheny County real estate records.

Penn Hills police had responded to the bar for two recent shootings, but they were not fatal, according to county police.