WASHINGTON — People who live in the Shaw neighborhood continue to voice their concerns over where violent behavior is coming from, especially after Sunday morning's deadly mass shooting that killed two men and injured five other people. For many of those neighbors, this is the last straw.
Carlos Reyes has lived in the building behind Play DC Lounge for five years. He said he's had enough.
"I think it’s time to shut down Play DC," he said.
This after Metropolitan Police Department says someone opened fire and killed two men and injured five other people. Police are investigating if it is connected to the Play DC Lounge, but neighbors are convinced the nightclub is at the heart of it all.
Reyes says he and other neighbors have made several complaints about noise and violent incidents that he says stem from the club. The ANC and Play DC Lounge came to a legal settlement on Jan. 24.
As part of the settlement, Play DC had to agree to a number of stipulations which restrict decibel levels of music and state the club must request two DC Police officers to patrol the 600 block of Q Street NW and the 1500 block of Marion Street NW for one hour after the lounge closes, which is at 3 a.m. on Saturdays.
We reached out to DC Police to find out if Play DC had met those requirements. A spokesman says they are looking into it and will get back to us when they find out.
Meanwhile, Reyes says this isn't strike one. He says Play DC closed for one month last summer after someone was shot in the chest during an argument over a woman.
"We thought after that shooting in July with someone shot in the club that would result in some sort of shift in behavior but that hasn’t been the case," he explained.
Reyes says the lack of action by Play DC shows more than their words in the settlement.
"I think they’ve been given ample opportunities to demonstrate that they’re willing to be part of the Shaw community and other businesses in that area have actually reached out to the neighbors and say hey we have some of the same concerns. We play the rules, we work with the neighbors," he said.
WUSA9 has reached out to the manager of Play DC and have not heard back.
There is an ANC community meeting scheduled for Tuesday night at the Shaw Library with an open forum period. One neighbor says he will speak up if Play DC hasn't shut down by then.
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