Bride-to-be shot at DC nightclub days before wedding vows to 'never return' to city

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DC native says Buttigieg should walk by himself as locals do: ‘I’m very scared’

Washington, D.C., residents talk about whether they feel safe amid crime concerns after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said he could safely walk his dog to the Capitol.

A shooting at a popular nightclub in downtown Washington, D.C., left a bride-to-be injured just two weeks before her wedding.

Rennwel Mantock is charged with opening fire and hitting multiple bystanders at Decades on Connecticut Avenue NW as security guards tried to escort him from the club around 11:30 p.m. on April 26.

"I’m in a lot of pain, and I am just thankful that I am alive," "Katie," the bride-to-be and a mother of three, told FOX 5 DC. "The bouncer lifted up the rope after the first shot was fired, and then as I was running … I got hit."

The shooting occurred in an area that has heavy security and a high volume of night activity on weekends.

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First responders arrive with a stretcher at the scene of a shooting at the Decades nightclub in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/Washington Post)

Mantock is charged with six counts of assault with intent to kill and six counts of firearm possession during a violent crime, according to D.C. court records.

"I will never return to the streets of D.C."

— "Katie," bride-to-be

"I will never return to the streets of D.C.," Katie told FOX 5. "I was doing nothing wrong in what was supposed to be the safest place in D.C., and I got shot."

The shooting reportedly stemmed from an altercation between the suspect and security inside the club. (Google Maps)

The suspect told police he was "dancing on a lady when security approached him telling him he had to leave the club," a police report shows.

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Mantock "further stated that the security grabbed him by the neck and punched him in the face right before dragging him down the steps," where he said security again punched him in the face. The suspect told authorities that it was that moment when he pulled out his gun and began shooting because he was "very upset about the security punching him in the face," the police report states.

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Authorities retrieved the suspect's gun from under a vehicle, where he allegedly threw it after opening fire. A total of six victims were shot and taken to nearby hospitals.

The U.S. Secret Service assisted in arresting the suspect. Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-9099 or text 50411.