Man told to ‘never come back’ to bar returns and shoots owner dead, TN widow says
A man kicked out of a bar returned 30 minutes later and fatally shot the bar’s owner, according to Tennessee authorities and the victim’s wife.
William Charles Thomas Sullivan, 24, was armed with a knife when he made threatening statements while at Double CC Bar and Grill in Athens, Tennessee, on Sept. 19, according to McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy.
“He was told to leave and never come back,” the victim’s wife, Stephanie Croft, said on Facebook.
She said Sullivan returned 30 minutes later and began shooting in the parking lot. That’s when her husband, bar owner Randy Croft, went outside to investigate.
“It got quiet, then all of a sudden it lit up over there,” Stephanie Croft said. “He shot my husband a lot..for no reason..no reason. My husband was not a threat. Just plain cold murder.”
According to the sheriff, Sullivan took the bar owner’s truck and fled the scene. Following a short pursuit, he was taken into custody in a neighboring county.
He is being held in the McMinn County Jail on a murder charge, the sheriff said.
One man who witnessed the shooting called Randy Croft a “hero.” He said the bar owner “made sure he kept the shooter away from the patrons,” preventing others from getting hurt.
“This man lost his life amongst a very tragic and disgusting situation but we should all remember him as a hero,” Johnathan Marsh said on Facebook. “This very well could have and would have ended very differently if it wasn’t for the few who jumped into action keeping the shooter from the entrance or any closer to the bar than he was.”
Stephanie Croft is now navigating life without her husband, who she says was a father and grandfather.
“I will not be opening the bar back up.. I cant,” she said on Facebook. “It killed my Randy and I just can’t stand to be there.”
Athens is about a 60-mile drive northeast from Chattanooga.
This story was originally published September 22, 2025 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Man told to ‘never come back’ to bar returns and shoots owner dead, TN widow says."