Nolan Storey and Jack Friese spent their last day of a three-day weekend watching television in the comfort of their home Monday night. Shortly after 11 p.m., their quiet evening was interrupted by a series of gunshots coming from outside.

Both Friese, music industry business senior, and Storey, English writing junior, were reluctant to leave their rental property home to see what had taken place.

“When I heard those gunshots, my initial reaction was to lock my door and hide in my kitchen,” Storey said.

Following the scare, Friese remembered something that prompted him and Storey to run outside. Their third roommate, who, prior to the shooting, left the house to take a walk in the neighborhood, had not returned.

Friese said he tried calling his housemate several times but could not reach him. Worried that their roommate may have been the person harmed, they went outside after waiting a few additional minutes for the gunshots to clear.

While outside, Friese and Storey saw there roommate was OK, but a 19-year- old male lying on the street, bleeding profusely. A bartender and a patron from Friar Tuck’s, less than 100 feet away, ran over to help the victim. Friese said they tried to stop the male from bleeding as well as calm him down.

“The patron of the bar tried to keep him awake and kept telling him to stay with us,” Friese said. Friese immediately ran into house to get some blankets and towels, but Friese said that by the time he came back, the victim had no pulse.

The male, identified as Errol Joseph Meeks, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime, according to an e-mail from NOPD spokeswoman Shereese Harper.

Several news outlets say Meeks had been inside Friar Tuck’s earlier that night until he received a phone call prompting him to leave the bar momentarily. Meeks left and walked across the street toward his car before a series of shots were fired, WWL-TV reported. According to Harper, a motive has yet to be determined.

WWL-TV also reported that the death of Meeks has prompted Friar Tuck’s owner Jason Blitch to close the bar down permanently. Blitch could not be reached for comment but addressed the fatal incident in a statement to WWL-TV.

“I have taken it upon myself to close Friar Tucks. I believe this is the best action to be taken. Please understand I have never intentionally broken the law or have I intentionally done anything to harm this neighborhood,” the statement read.

“The person who was shot and killed last night was not a lawless individual. He was a friendly neighborhood gentleman…The actions that occurred last night can not be blamed on anyone except the person who pulled the trigger.”

The murder wasn’t the only incident that happened on Freret Street that week, according to Storey. He said there was an armed robbery the following morning. It is something he says he believes doesn’t suggest that the area is any more dangerous than any other areas in New Orleans.

“Now that Tuck’s is closed though, I think that crowd is going to have to find a new bar so I think it will become less dangerous around here,” Storey said.

Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected]