Various city efforts have failed to completely close down the troublesome Last Call drinking establishment at 729 N.H. After a shooting incident early Sunday that wounded two employees and a 15-year-old Topeka resident, it’s time for the city to do whatever it takes to rid itself of this dangerous business.

It’s not like city commissioners and administrators haven’t tried. They went through the long process of convincing the Kansas Department of Revenue to deny a liquor license to the club on the basis that it was a public safety hazard.

Last Call lost its license in December and was ordered to remain closed while it appealed the decision. The club’s owner, Dennis Steffes, was not satisfied to simply abide by the order and decided instead to take advantage of loose state laws to keep Last Call open as a private “bring your own bottle” establishment.

This unexpected development left the city in a difficult spot. Because Last Call doesn’t have a liquor license, it apparently doesn’t have to abide by laws that set mandatory closing hours and give police officers the right to do routine bar checks. Taking away a liquor license usually gets rid of a nuisance establishment, but in this case, it may have made the situation worse.

The one thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the violence associated with this location. The latest incident occurred early Sunday morning when someone in a vehicle exiting a parking lot just north of Last Call opened fire on people just outside the club.

Sunday’s shooting was the latest in a long string of problems at Last Call. Numerous guns have been found inside cars parked in the vicinity, and shots have been fired inside the club. Disputes that started at Last Call also have moved onto highways between Lawrence and Kansas City, but this time, the shooting took place on a downtown Lawrence sidewalk. And those wounded were a 15-year-old from Topeka and two 20-something employees from the Kansas City area.

What was a 15-year-old doing in Last Call? It’s hard to know why anyone would choose to work in this place or how the two employees may have been involved in events leading up to this shooting, but they, like everyone else, should be able to expect to be on the sidewalks of downtown Lawrence at any time of the day or night without being shot at.

Mayor Sue Hack was right to immediately call for action on this issue. Her suggestion was to revive discussion of an ordinance to license entertainment establishments in the city, but this process will take some time and may create new unintended problems for the city. The Kansas Legislature might be willing to put action on the fast track to close loopholes concerning BYOB establishments. A third alternative is for District Attorney Charles Branson to pursue prosecution of Last Call’s owners for creating a public nuisance in Lawrence.

As far as most Lawrence residents are concerned, the best action is the one that gets this establishment closed down the soonest. Before even more devastating incidents occur, city and county officials should use whatever tools are at their disposal to get rid of Last Call.