Toledo police ask for community cooperation to close illegal after-hours clubs

TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo police are warning of the dangers that illegal “after-hours clubs” can present after a shooting at one over the weekend left one woman dead and two others injured.

“It’s an unfortunate situation where somebody was probably trying to have the best night they could have, and it ended up this way,” said Adam Fish, a lieutenant in the Toledo Police Department. “That’s why we really need to look at getting these places shut down and closed down, and we ask for the community to help us in doing that.”

On Sunday, 19-year-old Jasmine Queen was shot and killed in the parking lot of The Weekend Restaurant and Lounge, after a party or gathering at the club spilled outside, according to police.

“An after-hours location or establishment, as we consider it, is anything that operates outside our bar or restaurant hours,” Fish said. “Normally, that’s about a 2 a.m. cutoff. Most of your standard bars or restaurants are going to call it a night, where they’re going to make last call. These locations stay open after that or have events after that timeframe.”

Clubs operating after hours have long been known for illegal activity, including drug use, unlicensed alcohol sales and guns, according to Fish, who said they have become a recurring problem for officials, and enforcement remains difficult.

“It’s not a one-time effect on our part or the city’s part where we can just shut it down and it stays shut down,” Fish said. “It’s a process. Unfortunately, for this instance, somebody lost their life.”

Fish says one way to help prevent future tragedies is through community cooperation and reporting tips.

“Anybody with information, like always, is asked to call or text our Crime Stoppers hotline number” at 419-255-1111, he said.

The shooting remains under investigation, according to police.

RELATED: Mother of Toledo shooting victim speaks out while battling stage 4 cancer