DENVER — Community leaders, violence prevention advocates and the owner of a Denver nightclub gathered Monday to search for solutions after a mass shooting at Ultra Lounge left one person dead and eight others injured.
Elijah Bernard, 25, was killed at the bar just after midnight on Monday, July 20 in what Denver police described as a shootout between two groups. Police said they are still searching for suspects.
The city ordered the nightclub to shut down immediately, alleging it was operating without the proper licenses.
One week after the shooting, residents, advocates and local leaders met at Brother Jeff's Cultural Center on Welton Street to talk about ways to prevent more violence. Dr. Joel Hodge, founder of the violence prevention group Struggle of Love Foundation, urged families to help build stronger support systems for youth at home.
"I'm asking a lot of our men, our fathers, our brothers, our uncles that have left us to come back and help us raise your children," Hodge said.
Lanier Deruso, a father and mentor for Struggle of Love, said he had visited Ultra Lounge a few times before the shooting.
"I really was shocked that it happened there," Deruso said.
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Deruso said he and others are working to break cycles of violence and build a stronger community for the next generation.
"It comes with having conflict resolution skills in the situation, and thinking with your mind instead of your emotions," Deruso said. "Mixing alcohol as a substance with a gun is a very dangerous thing."
On Monday, other community leaders stressed the importance of having safe community gathering places.
"We, as a community, we need some places to go. We need places that are safe, and when a tragedy takes a place, we can't let the tragedy overshadow the potential of that space," Jeff Fard, also known as Brother Jeff, said. "Our mission today is really to recognize the lives that have been lost, individuals that have been injured, and a community that has been struggling in the wake of another tragedy."
Dionte Wilkins, the owner of Ultra Lounge, attended the meeting and said his goal was to focus the conversation on victims and their families. He said he was on the patio at the time of the shooting and described it as a "crazy scene out of nowhere."
"It's a hard topic because this has been going on in our community for a long time. This isn't the first situation, and unfortunately, it probably won't be the last," Wilkins said. "Staff is doing okay, trying to pick up the pieces as well, just trying to hold on and figuring out their next steps."
Wilkins said he has no plans to reopen the bar.
