Prince George’s County Police Maj. Kevin Davis confirmed yesterday reports of gunfire outside Cornerstone Grill and Loft early Sunday morning, correcting earlier police comments that no shell casings had been found.
Davis, the top commander in the county police district where College Park is located, said police responding to the gunfire found a shell casing from a semi-automatic pistol apparently fired near Cornerstone, but could not find witnesses who saw the gun being fired.
Multiple sources interviewed since Sunday, however, described a chaotic scene inside the bar, where frightened patrons dove beneath tables and a large crowd outside scattered in all directions, leaving the scene.
Although a police firearms team is examining the casing to see if they can find a match in police files, Davis said investigators can’t be assigned to the case unless police receive a witness or vehicle description involving the shooter. He pledged, however, to increase police presence around the bars and encouraged witnesses to come forward.
“The last thing I need is to have someone who thinks they can bring a firearm into the off-campus community and get away with it,” Davis said. “On the nights we know are hot out there, I’m going to keep the heat on that area.”
Davis refuted reports that a victim had been shot, but noted a man was found on the scene with severe head wounds when police responded to reports of the shooting, and that the man was hospitalized. He said, however, that police do not believe the incidents are connected.
“We don’t have a victim, and we don’t have a suspect,” Davis said. “If anybody saw anyone fire a weapon that night, we need them to come forward. Right now there is no criminal investigation because we don’t have any witnesses.”
The incident comes just days after Prince George’s Police released statistics indicating a significant decrease in violent crime in College Park, but the reports of gunfire has renewed concerns among students and even some bar employees that the area around the four bars downtown is becoming increasingly volatile.
Calls to establish a permanent police presence outside the bar have been expressed by students and residents in the past, and the city council has moved in recent years toward requiring new bar owners to agree to contribute money for a force of moonlighting police dedicated to the bars. Thirsty Turtle bar owner Alan Wanuck was the first to agree to such a proposal when he signed a property use agreement in March.
The incident was discussed at a council meeting last night, and Cornerstone owner Mark Srour renewed his denial that those involved in the gunfire were thrown out of his bar earlier in the night for fighting.
He told council members that no one seemed to know exactly what happened, but he had been told that someone fired shots around the back of Cornerstone and then ran up to the front, fired another shot and fled.
Student patrons of the bar, however, disputed Srour’s account in several interviews.
Senior family studies major Abigail Williams, who arrived at Cornerstone about 11 p.m. on Saturday, said she witnessed a brutal brawl that appeared to be the catalyst to the gunfire.
“It was getting ready to be last call when a fight started on the dance floor,” Williams said. “Bouncers finally got them out into the street and they started fighting in the street really bad. Two or three guys were stomping this guy’s face into the curb.”
Within five minutes of the fight breaking out on the dance floor, Williams said she heard a shot outside.
“It was really scary, everyone in Cornerstone got down. Girls were crying and the bartender was freaking out,” she said.
Williams said Cornerstone employees locked all the patrons in the bar for about five minutes before they let them go home. She called Srour’s denial that the incident originated in his bar “ridiculous.”
“These were his patrons. There were like 100 people in that bar and we all knew what was going on,” Williams said. “If they’re not going to take this negative occurrence and use it for positive change, I’m not going to go back there. That’s what you have to do when something like this happens, you can’t just deny it.”
Two other witnesses who declined to give their names confirmed Williams’ account, and one witness, who also declined to give his name, reported seeing a gunman. Davis encouraged anyone with additional information to call investigators at (301) 699-2601. Information can be given anonymously, Davis said.
Contact reporter Owen Praskievicz at praskieviczdbk@gmail.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that University Police released statistics showing declining crime trends. Prince George’s police released crime data that showed a decrease in city crime.
