Martha Rial, Post-Gazette
	Touch nightclub in the Strip District. MORE COVERAGE Club owner had stakes in many night spots Security staff called key to nightclub safety

Justin Gaines, a young man from Philadelphia, had never been to Pittsburgh before this past weekend. But he'd been around violence enough to know what to do when he heard gunshots early yesterday morning inside Touch, a Strip District nightclub.

"I'm no stranger to it," said Mr. Gaines, 23. "You hear something like that and you just know, 'I need to get down.' Especially in Philadelphia, you sort of get used to it. But I didn't expect this in Pittsburgh."

Eight people were injured after midnight Sunday when gunfire erupted in the second-floor balcony of Touch, 1400 Smallman St.

"It was like a movie scene, like in 'Scarface.' " Mr. Gaines said, referring to the 1983 motion picture starring Al Pacino as a gangster who is in a nightclub when assassins start shooting at him.

"That's exactly what was going on," Mr. Gaines said. "I was talking to a woman and enjoying my drink, the music was playing. And then shots rang out. Just loud pop! Pop! And then the screaming and diving."

Police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki, who heads the city's Major Crimes squads, said it appeared that seven of those wounded were upstairs -- in what was labeled a VIP area -- and the other wounded person was on the first-floor dance area. One of the women wounded on the balcony fell down the steps after the shooting.

Mr. Gaines and his friend, Clifton Prince, 23, of Queens, N.Y., were among those who scrambled to safety outside, where they were still standing when police arrived moments later.

"There were some women [near us], and when they saw the cops, they also saw the guy who did it," Mr. Prince said. "They screamed 'That's him, him in the blue shirt. He did it,' and the cops tackled him."

Last night, police said, no arrests had been made, although the man who was detained at the scene remained in custody on a charge of providing false identification to officers. Detectives identified him as Brian Robinson, 23, of Pittsburgh.

Those seriously wounded in the melee, and their injuries, included:

A 31-year-old man in critical condition in Allegheny General Hospital with eight gunshots to the stomach, knee and leg.

A 22-year-old woman in critical condition in Mercy Hospital with a gunshot wound to the neck.

A woman, age unknown, in stable condition in Allegheny General with a gunshot wound to the head.

Others who were treated for injuries and released included a 23-year-old woman struck in the finger; a man, 25, struck in the head; two women, one 32 and another whose age is unknown, each shot in the foot; and a woman, 21, struck in the arm.

Cmdr. Stangrecki said it is possible the man who is in critical condition may have been the intended target of the gunman because he was struck eight times.

That more people weren't injured was remarkable, he said.

Touch is a relatively new bar in the Strip District. Its liquor license was issued in June 2003 to Thomas and Margaret Jayson, owners of several other Pittsburgh bars including Matrix, The Boardwalk and the Sports Rock Cafe, next door to Touch. Its capacity is 535.

The target audience is upscale, young single people looking to dance, drink and mingle. It isn't open for lunch, and the music, from a disc jockey or occasional live band, is loud and pulsating. The barmaids are scantily clad, and some female employees dance on the bars or from brass poles that stretch to the ceiling.

The atmosphere is a mix of South Beach and safari, with faux palm trees and walls adorned with artificial animal heads and paintings of giraffes, zebras and wild cats. The carpeting around the fireplace in the upstairs lounge, where $20 gets you a seat in a leather sofa, is of imitation animal hides.

The state Liquor Control Board has permitted the Jaysons to operate Touch while its liquor license is under temporary board authority, meaning the board has an objection to the couple's renewal application.

"It's because of their abuse of licensing privileges relating to the Rock Jungle," said Liquor Control Board spokeswoman Dawn Petrosky. The license for Rock Jungle, near Station Square, has been revoked, she said. The night spot has closed.

Lawyer Charles L. Caputo, who represents the Jaysons, was not available yesterday for comment.

But those familiar with Touch said that, as far as nightclubs go, there were few problems. It was not considered a nuisance bar; its racially mixed clientele generally was well-behaved.

"The incidents there have been minor, ranging from thefts to maybe a citation for a false ID or a public intoxication, but certainly nothing of this nature," Cmdr. Stangrecki said.

The club usually operates Tuesdays through Saturdays, with Sundays generally set aside for special promotions. This summer, Sundays were sponsored by WAMO 106.7-FM, a radio station that promotes itself as "Pittsburgh's home for hip-hop and R&B." Doors opened at 10 p.m., and ladies drank free until midnight.

The club's dress code was casual but not overly restrictive: "No white T-shirts, no basketball jerseys, no tank tops and no excessively baggy clothes."

Police said there were about 400 people inside the club late Sunday.

Mr. Gaines and his three companions were patted down by security guards before being admitted. There was no metal detector. Most women, the men said, were not searched.

Emily Dolecki of Manor, Westmoreland County, went to the club with friends to celebrate her 24th birthday. She said she and her friends were not searched, but security certainly was present.

"I go there from time to time. I always see security guards everywhere, around every corner it seems like," she said.

Cmdr. Stangrecki said none of the club patrons, Touch staff or the club's 12 to 14 private security guards reported seeing an argument or physical altercation prior to the eruption of gunfire about 1:15 a.m. Four off-duty Pittsburgh police officers were stationed outside the club -- three out front and one in back -- as per department regulations for working such details.

Police and witness accounts indicated that after the shots were fired, the three officers in front and the private security guards rushed into the club.

The patrons swept like a wave down the balcony steps and through the first-floor doors and onto Smallman Street. Despite the danger and the fear, police said, the evacuation was relatively orderly, with no one panicking or stampeding.

Seven of those injured were taken from the scene by ambulance. One injured person was transported to the hospital by private means.

Ron Davenport Jr., president, radio division of Sheridan Broadcasting Corp., which owns WAMO, issued a statement yesterday condemning "violence in any context" and extending the station's best wishes for those who were injured.

Police said they are encountering some obstacles in their investigation. No gun was discovered on the man they detained, nor was one found in the club. Also, the people who indicated he was involved in the shooting left the scene, and therefore were not around to provide additional information or positively identify him as the gunman.

Moreover, Cmdr. Stangrecki said, police aren't certain whether there was only one gunman, although the three shell casings recovered in the club were from the same caliber semiautomatic weapon.

"Most of the victims did not see a suspect" firing at them, he said. And police haven't been able to interview the most seriously wounded.

Cmdr. Stangrecki asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the homicide squad at 412-323-7161.

"We believe someone saw something and probably fled the club for their safety," he said. "We still want to talk to anyone who can identify the gunman."

Mr. Gaines and Mr. Prince pointed out how difficult the task for police might be.

"It was dark, and once you hear shooting, you drop to the floor, you fall with your face down," said Mr. Prince. "Unless you've got people who were standing close, you're not going to have eyewitness testimony."

"I don't need to be a witness, because you hear about people -- they shoot witnesses," said Mr. Gaines.