Shooting & Robery at Askenaz

Wow. Woke up to this news today regarding an incident there on Friday night....

Dear Friend of Ashkenaz,

We are deeply touched by the support, love, and concern expressed by so many in response to last night's (Firday) events, in which two employees were shot in the course of a robbery. We are relieved and grateful to report that our two family members are in stable condition and expected to recover.

Ashkenaz will be open tonight and beyond. As we conclude our anniversary celebration, we have more reason than ever to honor 40 Years of Dancing for Peace. Please come show your support and solidarity for your community center at our events this weekend:

Sat., March 16: Lavay Smith & Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers + Quinn DeVeaux & the Blue Beat Revue - Swing/R&B
Swing dance lesson at 7:30 pm; Show at 8:30 pm

Sun., March 17: Asheba - "Soggy Sundays" Kids' Series
Show 3:00 - 4:30 pm

Sun., March 17: Non Stop Bhangra dance party with Dholrhythms
6:30 pm - free!

with gratitude,

the staff and board of Ashkenaz

This hurts me. That place is like my living room, all the staff are great and the laid back attitude is part of what makes it great. It hurts to think which of my friends got shot. I can only hope it leads to renewed efforts to reduce gun crimes. I can't count the positive experiences i've had there. LONG LIVE ASHKENAZ!

Universal background checks, mental health checks, mandatory insurance for all gun sales, id marks on bullets that can be traced to the buyer, increased costs of ammunition, lets impose the same sorts of requirements we put on vehicles on all guns, it's far past time we did that.

Love that reggae!

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nomotrouble
Universal background checks, mental health checks, mandatory insurance for all gun sales, id marks on bullets that can be traced to the buyer, increased costs of ammunition, lets impose the same sorts of requirements we put on vehicles on all guns, it's far past time we did that.

--
blessid love
ras danny
higher reasoning reggae time
KBOO Portland, Full Strength Community Radio
*Love is a net that catches hearts like fish.*
-Muhammad Ali
*I don't like reggae, I love it*

Berkeley-woman • 14 hours ago −
I was there. Scary stuff - they came in while the performers where playing music on stage and we were all dancing, the gunmen made everyone (performers too) lay down on the floor (about 400 people total). Everyone froze, afraid to look up. The place became totally silent and motionless (with all those people, piled up on top of wach-other - it was crowded, and we lay down wherever we were standing/dancing) They shot 5 or six times, then ran and people started to get up/call the police. And NO, the police did not arrive right away at all. Took them at least 10 minutes. THey must have stolen a lot - the tickets were $18, and they also robbed the bar.

Love that reggae!

This is terrible....Askenaz is such a warm and loving place. My heart goes out to all the folks there esp. the two shot.

Very sad indeed, this is really upsetting news and of all venues for it to happen at, smh!

Being there the night before and having had such a great experience throws the reality of this terrible event into stark relief... I've held vibes with both men who were injured while attempting to defend our beloved space. Truly both sad and terrible.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2013 07:51PM by Christopher.

Prayers for Larry and Stan, two loving peaceful bredren.

Yo them pieces of crap from Richmond and Oakland come to rob people everyday because babylon does not give them a job. I see criminals and scouts everyday in Berkeley.......its basically class warfare.....I overstand the problems nonetheless......no mercy for the merciless........neighborhood watch in full effect!!!!!!!!

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strikkly
Yo them pieces of crap from Richmond and Oakland come to rob people everyday because babylon does not give them a job.

Another perspective might be "Yo them pieces of crap from Richmond and Oakland come to rob people everyday because they'd rather rob people than work for a living."

I do not necessarily perscribe to this point of view - I give voice to it to illustrate that the shituation is much more complex than what you can fit onto a bumper sticker.

Who knows what the circumstances are that make people do crime.

What happened at the Askenaz is a symptom of societies sickness.

so everyone without a job becomes a mad dog robber/killer?

No, I thought not.

there is no defense for gunrelated criminals, none whatsoever.

I have sat out front of Ashkenaz plenty o times and reasoned with some of the homeless, they have little but are not criminals. There are all kinds of people in the world but the kind that would pick up a gun and threaten someone else's life or act so cavalierly that they put other lives in danger to steal money that someone else worked hard for have a particular emptiness which allows them to do these things. It's not how much you have, but the coldness in your heart and the availability of weapons to carry out your wickedness. It's very complex but starts in the home i believe.

Love that reggae!

BURN the vampires that did this @#$%&. Sooo bad, WTF? Ashkenaz was a place of peace and community and these losers took advantage. FIRE BURN !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Made my first visit ever to Ashkenaz the night before, LOVED the music. It was such a nice night, the place and the people were so chill. It's such a shame that this had to happen at such a cool spot. I'll for sure be back for more shows and nice vibes. Prayers go out to the injured for speedy recovery.

Fire burn the punk thugs who did it. Gangster mentality is what is to blame. I hope they bury them under the jail. Burn them especially cuz they did it to our beloved ashkenaz which is free of blame.

** I heard they caught one of the suspects

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John Blaze
** I heard they caught one of the suspects

They did right in the area. What makes this so tragic is that the founder was gunned down by a drunk patron 17 years ago in the doorway. Not to mention that they were celebrating "40 years dancing for Peace". I could have easily been there with my children and family, not likely due to the hour but it is not uncommon for some of us extended family at Ashkenaz to bring the whole family to events there. It is easy to chalk up shootings at sketchy bars that make their livings off selling poison to the masses as karma. However this is just a reminder that we live in a truly cruel and unfair world. Be safe. Very very sad. Sounds like Larry especially still needs your prayers.

This is very sad indeed. I don't know the bar or the people but my heart cries for them and the state of society that makes even a reggae dance dangerous.

Our country truly needs to look at the causes of violence in our society and peel back the onion. It won't be easy as I think alot of it boils down to the manifestation of capitalism.

Sista - shooting was NOT at a reggae show......not that it really matters.

Here's an email I just received from Ashkenaz:

Thank you for your support Please continue to stand with us!

The outpouring of support for our wounded brothers and for our beloved community center after the events of March 15 has been overwhelming and gratifying. A special thanks to those who came out to Ashkenaz over the weekend, as we continued to do what we do best: bring people together through music, dance, and joy! Please join us again and show your support as we continue our full schedule of programming.

Larry and Stan's recovery has gone remarkably well. Larry was released from the hospital last night, and we expect Stan to be released today following surgery.

In the wake of the robbery and our employees' serious injuries, we are in the process of setting up a benefit show as well as special assistance funds. In the meantime, donations are welcome and appreciated by PayPal (see button to the left) or by check to the address at the bottom of this e-mail. Thank you!

It is a multiple genre venue. There was a reggae show Thursday and the shooting was Friday night....the cowards definitely picked a soft target...a peace concert.

Very sad news indeed...Although its not the first nor the last time innocent people or establishments will be victimized on good ole San Pablo Blvd. Just a bad stretch of road all together. I think people get caught up in the symbolism of the 60's Berkeley and forget that its actually a dangerous place to be at nights. You are just as at risk walking around the corner from Ashkanaez as you are walking around the corner from the New Parrish. Stick up kids dont care about the cause, they just care about the money on the table.

Never sell out your ideals no matter how difficult the circumstance. Reggae taught me atleast that much and I am grateful.