D.C. Teen Is Killed at U Street Area Nightclub
Victim, a Bystander, Is Shot in Scuffle

By Keith L. Alexander and Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, January 21, 2007

A 17-year-old girl was fatally shot early yesterday at a nightclub crowded with teenagers near the U Street corridor, a rapidly transforming area of the District that has drawn a sometimes volatile mix of young people who flock to the bars and restaurants at night.

The shooting of Taleshia Ford set off a rapid response from city officials. Acting Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier ordered that the club be closed temporarily. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) called for more aggressive policing of underage clubs. And D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1) said he would introduce legislation barring minors from nightclubs where alcohol is served.

Ford, a senior at Booker T. Washington Public Charter School, had begged her reluctant mother to let her go with older family members to Smarta/Broadway, also known as Club 1919, at 1919 Ninth St. NW. Although it caters to teenagers, Smarta/Broadway has a license to serve alcohol to adults. On Friday night, a go-go band was playing the rhythmic, percussive dance music that defines the D.C.-based genre.

Ford, a bystander, was shot when a gun brought to the club by another patron went off during a scuffle with a bouncer.

Her parents, Michelle and Oscar Wilson, criticized the city for allowing alcohol to be served in clubs catering to teens and the club, which they said did not provide adequate security. The club's owner could not be reached.

Michelle Wilson said she had forbidden her daughter, the middle of her five children, from attending the club in the past. Wilson agreed this weekend because Taleshia was going with relatives.

"If I had just said no last night," she said, tearfully second-guessing her decision. Her daughter would have been angry, Wilson said. "But she would have been here.

"This was my baby," she said. "My baby. She was so full of life, so much talent, just wasted."

Police said the incident unfolded after a woman was kicked out of the club by security guards who accused her of smoking marijuana. The woman left but returned with a male friend who was carrying the gun. After entering the club, the couple got into an altercation with a bouncer, police said, and the handgun the man was carrying accidentally fired.

Ford, who was standing nearby, was struck in the side by a bullet that exited her chest, family members said.

She and her friends had been dancing to the Third Dimension Band just minutes before, but the group had stopped playing after the commotion began, said Ashley Cunningham, 18, Ford's sister, who was with her at the club.

"We all scattered, and I didn't know where she was until I saw her on the floor bleeding," Cunningham said.

No arrests had been made. The woman whose ejection from the club set off the events and the man who accompanied her with a gun remained at large, police said. District law prohibits private citizens from carrying handguns.

"There is no indication at this point that [Ford] was the intended target," said Cmdr. Larry McCoy, who heads the 3rd Police District.

Ford's death marks the fourth killing associated with dance clubs in the U Street area in less than three years. The previous incidents eventually led to clubs being closed permanently. City officials closed Between Friends after a stabbing in 2004, Kili's Kafe after a patron was shot in 2005 and Club U after a stabbing in 2005. All had operated as restaurants by day and dance clubs after hours.

Some go-go dances have been marred by violence, but there is a growing movement to change their reputation by promoting peaceful go-gos.

Although government officials have tried to combat the problem by giving community leaders more authority to limit new establishments, the problems have continued.

Members of the area's Advisory Neighborhood Commission said Smarta/Broadway had been a source of trouble for police and nearby residents since it opened in 2004. They said the owner, in seeking their support for his liquor license, promised it would be an upscale restaurant frequented by African diplomats.

In April, the city's Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration ordered the club to shorten its hours after it was found to be serving alcohol after regular closing hours. Another hearing was scheduled for this week after authorities received complaints that the club was illegally allowing patrons to leave the premises with alcohol in cups.

Two frequent patrons of Smarta/Broadway, both minors, said it was relatively easy to find a clubgoer of legal age to buy a drink for minors.

While visiting with Wilson family members yesterday in their Northeast Washington home, Graham said he was troubled by District laws allowing minors to be in nightclubs that serve alcohol. Graham said he might introduce legislation to bar minors from such establishments. "This is a horrible, horrible tragedy that just should not have happened," he said.

The District is not the only place allowing minors in nightclubs. The laws vary widely by jurisdiction, but many places in Virginia and Maryland permit legal drinkers to mingle with minors.

Lanier ordered Smarta/Broadway closed for at least 72 hours while an investigation into Ford's killing is conducted.

"I thought it was a safe club because it was a teen club. But I guess nowhere is safe," Ford's father said.

The Wilsons remembered their daughter as a former cheerleader who loved to dance, style hair and design clothing. Last summer, she worked for the Mayor's Youth Leadership Institute, a college preparation program.

Yesterday, Oscar Wilson met Fenty and pleaded with the mayor to increase the safety and security of nightclubs in the District that cater to teenagers, "or this could happen again to someone else's child," Wilson said.

"I couldn't feel more sorry for you," Fenty said as he embraced Wilson.

"This is the worst nightmare a parent can go through. There is no hesitation. This place will be shut down," Fenty said.

His call was echoed by neighborhood residents.

Dee Hunter, chairman of the ANC 1B, said that if the club was operating a go-go dance and not just a restaurant as had been promised, the ANC will call for its closure.

"We have a bright line rule on the U Street corridor," Hunter said. "If someone is shot in your club, you're going to be closed down. . . . We will not tolerate this kind of thing on U Street. It should not be tolerated anywhere."

Staff writer David Nakamura and staff researcher Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report.