Parents Upset At Downtown Tulsa Nightclub

Two teenagers fight for their lives after being shot at a downtown Tulsa nightclub. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the neck at the Ministry of Sound nightclub, said police. The bullet went through his

Monday, February 12th 2007, 4:28 pm

By: News On 6

Two teenagers fight for their lives after being shot at a downtown Tulsa nightclub. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the neck at the Ministry of Sound nightclub, said police. The bullet went through his neck and into the face of 18-year-old Jeremy Lin. Lin underwent his second surgery remove bullet fragments from his brain on Monday.

News On 6 anchor Tami Marler spoke exclusively with the Lin family about their outrage over the clubâ€™s practices.

It took more than 50-officers to control the crowd outside of the Ministry of Sound, located at 3rd and Greenwood, after gunshots rang out inside the bar late Saturday night.

15-year-old Jesse Lin was one of several underage kids who got into the club.

"I just walked up to the door and there was a bouncer there and he asked me if I was over 21, he said under and gave me a stamp and let me in," Lin said.

The club has changed names several times, but remained under the same management and drawn the same types of violent acts. This time, Jesse's brother Jeremy was caught in the middle.

"People was throwing bottles and my brother stepped up on a chair, and then we heard a gunshot and everybody got down,â€ said Lin â€œI thought he was just hiding and I saw that he was bleeding."

"My son took his coat off and put pressure on his brother's head to keep him from bleeding to death," said the boys mother Kelly Lin.

She got the overnight phone call that every parent dreads.

"My son was shot in the face and went behind the eyes and it's lodged behind the eye," she said.

Lin says surgeons put Jeremy's chances at 50-50, and if he does survive the boy who was on the road to graduation will be lucky to be on a long road to recovery.

"He's blind in his left eye, and right now we don't have movement in his left side," said Kelly.

Kelly wants other parents to know the Ministry is planning to open again, for a Mardi Gras celebration that she fears will be just as bloody.

"Parents don't need to do this, neither do kids,â€ she said. â€œThis bar does not need to open for it. I will protest against it."

Underage kids may think it's cool to slip past the law, but Jesse Lin has some advice.

"Don't go there, you don't need to be around them. They're getting drunk and acting crazy. They don't need to go there," he said.

Police and patrons estimate 1,200 to 1,500 people were at the club Saturday night. Witnesses say they knew several underage kids there, and some were drinking beer.

The Ministry is scheduled to re-open on Thursday, and the Lin family plan to be there in protest.

Tulsa Police tell us Steve Kitchell, the club's owner, offered to contribute $10,000 to the Crimestoppers reward fund to find the shooter.