Vigil for Ali Ahmed Mohammed outside DC9 brings out crowd, raw emotions
Updated: October 20, 2010 - 07:50 am
"Charge the killers, we want justice!"
That was the message heard from D.C.'s tightly knit Ethiopian community Tuesday evening at a vigil to remember 27-year-old Ali Ahmed Mohammed, who died early Friday morning following an altercation with employees of U Street-area nightclub DC9.
Nearly 200 people, many holding candles or carrying signs in honor of Mohammed, crowded onto the 1900 block of 9th Street NW shortly before 6 p.m. D.C. police closed the street to traffic to accommodate the gathering.
"Ali was never the type to provoke violence," said Nunu Wako, Mohammed's cousin, as she choked back tears. "This is not something that you would do to a person who simply wanted to enter your business."
While witness accounts of events that night have varied, there is little dispute that Mohammed threw at least one brick, if not two, through the front window of the bar shortly before he died. Five men who work at DC9 then chased him, tackled him and held him down on the pavement. D.C. police say the employees then proceeded to kick and stomp on Mohammed, inflicting injuries that left him in critical condition. He died a short time later after being transported to Howard University Hospital.
Family members told the crowd Tuesday that they wanted to spend the evening focusing on Mohammed, but grief and anger quickly turned the vigil into a call for murder charges to be brought against the five suspects, Darryl Carter, Evan Preller, Arthur Zaloga, Reginald Phillips, and DC9 co-owner Bill Spieler. All five were initially arrested for second-degree murder, but have since been released after the charges were reduced to aggravated assault.
Prosecutors and police sources have indicated that those charges could once again be elevated, pending a ruling on a cause of death from the D.C. medical examiner.
Wako told the crowd that what happened to her cousin was "utterly barbaric."
"We will have justice in this case," Ward 1 D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham said. He went on to say that police believe they have enough evidence to charge at least some of the suspects with murder, and that he has seen evidence that confirms that Mohammed was taken away in an ambulance, and not a police cruiser, as one witness had claimed.
RecommendedRecent Facebook Activity
Best of TBD In case you missed it
-
The worst meals in America
Here's a visual look at the eight most delicious, disgusting meals in the country.
TBD Blogs What you need to read
-
@TBD Arts
Kennedy Center to give away tickets to every show of the 2011-2012 season
-
The Market Report
A sneak peek at the new Foggy Bottom Whole Foods
-
@TBD On Foot
Obnoxious Metro station encounters, Dupont Circle edition
Only On 7
-
ABC7's Interactive 7-day Forecast!
Now you can get customized weather right down to your street! Plan your day and week ahead with ABC7's Interactive 7-day forecast!
8 Comments