Philadelphia police and Temple University police responded just after 3 a.m. to a reported shooting inside Zoe Restaurant and Lounge at the corner of North 10th and Diamond streets in North Philadelphia, a building that also houses off-campus student apartments.
Officers found two men - a 48-year-old and a 28-year-old - shot multiple times inside the business. Both were rushed to the hospital. Police later said one man is in stable condition and the other remains in critical condition.
Hours after the shooting, the damage was still visible outside the building, with shattered glass lining the sidewalk and a window boarded up. Inside, broken glass revealed sofas and tables knocked over and bottles of alcohol left behind in the BYOB venue.
A Temple sophomore who lives nearby said the gunfire woke them early Thursday morning.
"Last night around 3 a.m., I heard people screaming, 'Go, go, go, move, move, move,'" the student said.
Another sophomore described learning about the incident through messages from loved ones.
"I was very shocked. I got a bunch of texts from my friends and my mom. She was worried about me," Tyler Baughman said.
The restaurant and hookah lounge sit below Temple Crossings, an offcampus student housing complex that is not owned by the university. Several students said the business had only been open for a few months and was not well known to them.
Former Temple student Shaker Ali described the location as a popular gathering spot.
"This is a party spot, it's a venue," Ali said.
One student said the impact of the shooting reached into nearby apartments.
"I woke up, and there was a bullet hole straight into our apartment complex," a sophomore said.
Temple University released a letter following the incident stating its police department is assisting Philadelphia police with the investigation.
Students expressed concern and uncertainty as they waited for more information.
"It's definitely tragic. I don't know all the details, but I was excited to see what they had going on," sophomore Jayden Jewell said.
Another student said the noise had been noticeable in recent nights.
"The past few nights I've been hearing a lot of noise, kind of like a party. I didn't know what it was," a sophomore said.
Police have not released information about a potential suspect. Investigators are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact Philadelphia police.