Tornado warning sparks bar ruckus as guards yell for people to leave

Published 4:25 pm Tuesday, April 16, 2019

A ruckus broke out in a Mississippi college town as security guards yelled at people to leave a bar during a tornado warning.

WCBI-TV reports Starkville police were called to Bin 612 late Saturday after a fight between guards and customers.

The chef and owner, Ty Thames, tells the Commercial Dispatch that he has a contract with Average Joe’s Security.

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Thames says he does not condone the guards’ “language or aggressive behavior,” but the intent was to get people out of the glass-front building and to safer spaces.

Starkville is home to Mississippi State University. Bin 612 is in the downtown Cotton District, which is home to several bars and restaurants popular with students.

The National Weather Service confirms a tornado struck Starkville. It did not hit the Cotton District.