3 women, 1 man hospitalized after shooting near Temple University

Four people were wounded after gunfire erupted early Sunday morning outside a hookah lounge in North Philadelphia, near Temple University’s main campus.

Police said the shooting occurred at around 2:45 a.m. at 10th and Diamond streets, across the street from the college’s football practice facility.

After being kicked out of the lounge, an unruly customer pulled out a gun, and a security guard shot him once in his left side, investigators said. Police believe the man fired back, striking three women who were also outside the venue.

The alleged gunman, a 23-year-old man, was transported to Temple University Hospital in critical condition, according to authorities. Police said he has been taken into custody as a “person of interest.” Officers also recovered a weapon at the scene.

A 20-year-old woman was struck by gunfire in her right arm; a 19-year-old woman sustained a gunshot wound to her left leg; and a 47-year-old woman was shot in her right arm, police said. All three women suffered nonlife-threatening injuries.

A Temple University spokesperson identified the business as the Hubble Bubble Hookah Lounge. A phone call to Hubble Bubble on Sunday afternoon was not immediately returned.

None of the victims are Temple students, according to the university. The college community has been on edge in the aftermath of last month’s fatal shooting of campus police officer Christopher Fitzgerald.