Kicked Out Of Strip Club For Refusing To Wear Masks, Return With AK-47

Booted out by bouncers of a California strip club for refusing to wear face coverings, three men came back with an AK-47 and started firing indiscriminately, USA Today reports.

Authorities said the three were arrested Dec. 17 on suspicion of opening fire at a strip club in Anaheim on Halloween night and injuring four people. One sustained a broken shoulder and another required surgery, the district attorney's office said.

Two of the men, from California, could spend life in prison for the shooting. The three suspects are jailed on $5 million bail each, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Authorities believe 34-year old Edgar Nava-Ayala fired 15 rounds using an AK-47 rifle while 22-year old Daniel Ocampo Nava rode in a red Toyota Camry that was driven by 20-year old Juan Acosta-Soto, past the Sahara Theater on State College Boulevard at around 1:30 a.m. Oct. 31, Anaheim police said.

The suspects were charged with three criminal counts of attempted murder, three felony counts of assault using a weapon, and one felony count of firing at an occupied building. All three have entered a not guilty plea to the charges. 

Police Sgt. Shane Carringer said the suspects were thrown out for refusing to wear face masks. "They came back and opened fire on the club in retaliation for being kicked out," USA Today quoted Carringer as saying.

Contrary to some reports, the men did not attack the strip club specifically for the mask protocols, Carringer said. "It's nothing short of a miracle that no one was killed," he told The Washington Post.