Firework tossed at gay bar patio again

Second such incident this summer rattles customers

A downtown Austin gay bar is beefing up security after someone threw a firework onto its patio for the second time this summer, setting off a cloud of smoke that sent patrons scrambling early Thursday just days before Austin Pride weekend.

Steve Rivas said he was at the Iron Bear on West Eighth Street for karaoke night with his husband when, shortly after 1 a.m., he heard a loud, thunderous bang that rattled the bar’s windows.

“There was a bright green flash followed by a burst of smoke,” said Rivas, who called 911 to report the incident.

He said a firework had been thrown from a moving vehicle onto the patio, where about a dozen people were gathered.

“I don’t think people were afraid as much as in shock,” Rivas said. “When a firework is thrown, it is loud. When a firework is thrown on a sidewalk full of people at a gay bar, it is scary.”

The Iron Bear co-owner Bengie Beshear said he was in the office when it happened but was told by patrons that the firecracker

AMANDA VOISARD / AMERICAN-STATESMAN Victor Bockelman, 65, left, Ben Jones-Walters, 72, and his husband, Bill Jones-Walters , 62, patronize the Iron Bear on Thursday in downtown Austin. Police responded to an incident about 1 a.m. in which a firework tossed from a passing car exploded on the patio of the gay bar.

AMANDA VOISARD / AMERICAN-STATESMAN Police investigate a late-night incident involving a firework thrown onto the patio of the Iron Bear.