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The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Shadow Room faces fine, calls for closure

Commissioners of the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission passed a resolution to shut down Shadow Room Thursday. Charlie Lee | Senior Staff Photographer
Commissioners of the Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission passed a resolution to shut down Shadow Room last Thursday. Charlie Lee | Senior Staff Photographer

This post was written by Hatchet reporters Brielle Powers and Robin Eberhardt.

D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration placed a $5,000 fine on the owners of Shadow Room last week for sale of alcohol to minors, according to a document from the administration. The agency also suspended the club’s liquor license for 10 days, including four days between Dec. 21 and 24, the document shows.

A bartender at the club sold vodka cranberries, gin and tonics and tequila to at least six underage patrons on Sept. 13, 2015, Borderstan reported Tuesday. The people at the bar last year told police the Shadow Room employees did not check their IDs when they entered the establishment, according to Borderstan.

“MPD detectives observed six minors drinking alcoholic beverages inside the establishment,” the report obtained by Borderstan shows. “The establishment failed to take reasonable steps to ascertain the ages of the individuals.”

The owners of Shadow Room did not immediately return a request for comment.

The nightclub has been under intense scrutiny this month: Last week, neighbors called for Shadow Room to be shut down after a shooting near the location this month.

At the monthly meeting at Funger Hall, Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission commissioners and community members discussed the recent and past violations of the Shadow Room club at 2131 K St.

The ANC unanimously voted to enact a resolution that calls for the immediate closure of the nightclub.

In review of the shooting incident, Chair Patrick Kennedy said a gunfight erupted as a couple walked to their cars on 22nd Street after exiting the nightclub at 3:00 a.m.

“A gunfight proceeded from some type of altercation and sprayed the surrounding streetscape with bullets,” Kennedy said. “I think there was an account of 30 shell casings, so this was a major discharge of weapons.”

Police arrested two men, Michael Ansara Ferebee and Julius Bowens, in connection with the Oct. 10 shooting. The Secret Service responded to the call and found a gun in the glove compartment of the car the men were in.

Confirming Kennedy’s report, Metropolitan Police Department Second District Lieutenant Zenobia McBride said police have still not identified at least two suspects.

McBride thanked those that sent in video footage of the incident, as they were helpful providing an assessment of the situation, she said. However, with two suspects yet to be identified, McBride requested assistance from the public to provide video footage of the actual incident, noting that the only evidence they currently possess is a vague description of a white sedan.

“We have aftermath video, but we are looking to get more video that actually captures these events and the vehicles involved,” she said.

When the Shadow Room last requested a renewed license, Kennedy and the ANC protested, adding the requirement that a police detail be present whenever the establishment is in operation has not been followed.

“We know that there was not a police detail in operation on the night in question,” Kennedy said.

In addition to this violation, Kennedy and fellow commissioners said they are frustrated with the investigatory report not being accessible to the public.

“This seems to have fallen into a situation where there was clearly an incident that resulted in the imminent threat to public safety and this provision was not enforced,” Kennedy said.

Peter Sacco, the executive director of the commission, said Shadow Room had failed to comply with the requirement of hiring a police detail. Sacco said that immediately after the Oct. 10 incident, Shadow Room resumed its hiring of the police detail.

“I think it was about a week ago they simply stopped paying,” he said. “MPD’s policy is that when they don’t pay, they don’t send someone.”

Commissioners Rebecca Coder and William Kennedy Smith also cited past experiences dealing with violations by and complaints concerning Shadow Room.

“One of the fellas who is a suspect, I think admitted to the officer that he had been from the club,” Coder said. “As next steps, we need to hold the agency accountable as far as liability.”

In addition to Shadow Room, the ANC also voted on resolutions regarding the renewal of nightclub licenses at three other area clubs: The 51st State Tavern, Avenue Suites’ A Bar, and Marshall’s Bar. All of the resolutions passed without objection.

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