GREENSBORO, N.C. — A bouncer is charged with second-degree murder after a deadly shooting outside The Blind Tiger in Greensboro early Sunday.
Jason Leonard, 28, appeared in court on Monday. Greensboro police said he's the bouncer at the nightclub, accused of shooting and killing 19-year-old Pedro Alegria.
Police have not said what led to the shooting, but did say a gun was not recovered from the victim.
WFMY News 2 obtained 911 calls from the shooting at the nightclub.
- Caller: No, nooo
- Dispatch: Guilford Metro 911. What is the address of your emergency?
- Caller: Hey, somebody just got shot.
- Dispatch: OK, where are you at? Where are you at?
- Caller: Um, I don't have an address. It's Blind Tiger.
- Dispatch: You're at the Blind Tiger? OK, someone got shot?
- Caller: He's shot. Yeah, he's bleeding out.
Alegria's uncle, Marco Gonzalez, told WFMY News 2 that his nephew was at The Blind Tiger with his girlfriend celebrating his 19th birthday.
"He was a young guy, he was a nice sweet guy. He would hang with you all day and make you laugh," Gonzalez said.
According to the family, the Blind Tiger kicked Alegria out of the club after a fight near closing time.
"He tried to go back in to get his girlfriend and everybody heard the shot," Gonzalez said.
He said Alegria's girlfriend was with him for his final moments. She is pregnant with their child.
Previous incidents at The Blind Tiger
Greensboro police said they've been called to the venue more than a dozen times so far in 2022 and more than 65 times in the past two years.
The shooting comes after the business was temporarily closed in April for investigation following two shootings.
The temporary closure was ordered by the city of Greensboro.
The investigations put the Blind Tiger on the Safety Review Board's radar, sparking the inspection.
City Councilmember Nancy Hoffmann spoke about the April shootings in a previous interview with WFMY News 2 and stressed the importance of dealing with the investigation appropriately.
"I know some of the conversations that you've heard is the Blind Tiger is being treated differently from any other club in town. I don't know, I hope not, it shouldn't be,” Hoffmann said.
Hoffmann spoke with WFMY News 2 again after Sunday's incident. She said they are taking this incident very seriously.
"Something is wrong at this venue," Hoffmann said. "I think without question whether it's indoors and continues outside or whatever, I just think that we are really going to have to look at all the details of this particular incident and see how this can be prevented or avoided in the future. You can't put people at risk in any kind of situation, certainly in an entertainment situation.”
Assistant city manager Nathaniel Davis said the goal of the investigations was to help provide safety for the community.
"We want our businesses to stay open. Whether it's a nightclub, a bar, a restaurant, or an event venue, we want them to operate and be in business. However, it is paramount that they do it safely,” Davis said.
Davis said this incident is sparking another investigation by the safety review board.
"We do take this very seriously. this is a very short span of time when you consider acts of violence at an establishment, and we have already begun to look at what other steps can we take," Davis said.