Local
Police investigate homicide that occurred after victim left nightclub
By: Scott McCabe
Examiner Staff Writer
December 1, 2008
A week after shutting the doors of a popular hip-hop hangout, Prince George’s police are investigating what they call another nightclub-related shooting.
Police said the victims had left the Icon Nightclub in Waldorf in Charles County early Saturday morning and were heading back home to Washington when 21-year-old Kordero Maurice Howard was shot. The victims had stopped at the intersection of Branch Avenue and Coventry Way in Clinton in Prince George’s County when another vehicle pulled up and someone fired a single gunshot.
Howard was struck in the upper body. His friends rushed Howard to the Greater Southeast Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Acting Prince George’s County Police Chief Roberto Hylton issued a plea to residents Sunday asking them to help the authorities in monitoring the late-night activities connected to nightclubs.
“Unfortunately, the problem of violence emanating from nightclubs is affecting several of the jurisdictions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area,” Hylton said in a release. “We need to have a collaborative effort between governmental agencies and the public to address and combat these crimes. The reason that I ordered the closing of The Setting nightclub four days ago in Langley Park was to prevent this very type of violence.”
Saturday morning’s shooting demonstrated how the nightclubs in one neighborhood could affect other communities, said police spokesman Cpl. Stephen Pacheco. Hylton is working with other police agencies on strategies to deal with club-related violence, Pacheco added.
Hylton ordered the closing of The Setting after a man was shot three times in the bathroom by suspects who mistakenly thought he was a rival gang member. The shooting was the ninth violent episode linked to The Setting since 2007. Two people had been killed there during that time.
Police called the club a “refuge” for gang members and said they were concerned about retaliatory shootings.
Anyone with information about Howard’s slaying is asked to call the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). A cash reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for the tip that leads to an arrest and indictment.
Police said the victims had left the Icon Nightclub in Waldorf in Charles County early Saturday morning and were heading back home to Washington when 21-year-old Kordero Maurice Howard was shot. The victims had stopped at the intersection of Branch Avenue and Coventry Way in Clinton in Prince George’s County when another vehicle pulled up and someone fired a single gunshot.
Howard was struck in the upper body. His friends rushed Howard to the Greater Southeast Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Acting Prince George’s County Police Chief Roberto Hylton issued a plea to residents Sunday asking them to help the authorities in monitoring the late-night activities connected to nightclubs.
“Unfortunately, the problem of violence emanating from nightclubs is affecting several of the jurisdictions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area,” Hylton said in a release. “We need to have a collaborative effort between governmental agencies and the public to address and combat these crimes. The reason that I ordered the closing of The Setting nightclub four days ago in Langley Park was to prevent this very type of violence.”
Saturday morning’s shooting demonstrated how the nightclubs in one neighborhood could affect other communities, said police spokesman Cpl. Stephen Pacheco. Hylton is working with other police agencies on strategies to deal with club-related violence, Pacheco added.
Hylton ordered the closing of The Setting after a man was shot three times in the bathroom by suspects who mistakenly thought he was a rival gang member. The shooting was the ninth violent episode linked to The Setting since 2007. Two people had been killed there during that time.
Police called the club a “refuge” for gang members and said they were concerned about retaliatory shootings.
Anyone with information about Howard’s slaying is asked to call the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). A cash reward of up to $25,000 is being offered for the tip that leads to an arrest and indictment.
