Man Shoots Up Hiram Bar, Then Drives Truck Through It: Police

HIRAM, GA — A Woodstock man is behind bars Monday after authorities say he shot up a bar in Hiram over the weekend, then plowed his pickup truck through its front doors.

Eduardo Morales, 34, is in custody at the Paulding County Detention Center, charged with aggravated assault and aggravated battery, both felonies, after Saturday night’s melee at 278 South on the Atlanta Highway. More charges may follow, said a spokesperson for the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. Morales was identified by the consulate card he left at the bar, which Atlanta news station WGCL-TV reports was issued by the Mexican government.

According to a statement from Hiram’s police department, Morales was asked to leave 278 South because he was intoxicated. He did, but he came back moments later in his Dodge Ram 2500, carrying a weapon he fired repeatedly into the club.

Once the gun was emptied, the statement continues, Morales drove his truck through the front doors of 278, “striking numerous patrons” and eventually hitting the bar. But when Morales tried to back his truck out, he discovered he was stuck. Bar patrons were able to pull him from the truck before he reloaded his gun, holding him for the police.

Morales “suffered minor injuries will (sic) being detained by the patrons of the bar,” the statement said. He was treated at Wellstar Paulding Hospital before being taken to jail. One person, hit twice by the truck, was treated at the hospital and released. Another person, who was grazed by a bullet, was also treated and released, according to Atlanta news station WGCL-TV.

278 South remains closed as of Monday, but management posted a message to social media thanking patrons who helped stop the situation from escalating further.

“We like to believe most people are good … and it showed last night,” the post said.