Woman beaten, fatally shot outside Coconuts Cafe
Since things that appear on baltimoresun.com over the weekend can get overlooked, I'd like to link back to a piece by Brent Jones.
At about 2 a.m. Sunday morning, 25-year-old Sctario Tia Edwards of Baltimore was beaten with a pipe and fatally shot outside Coconuts Cafe (309 W. Madison St.).
According to police, there was some kind of altercation on the dance floor. Edwards' attacker left the club but came back around closing time, where she started hitting Edwards with a pipe.
The suspect then shot Edwards and another 26-year-old woman in a nearby car. Edwards tried to escape but the suspect shot her again.
A 27-year-old woman was also wounded by stray gunfire, according to police. Both the injured women are expected to survive.
I used to live right next to Coconuts, which happens to be the city's only lesbian bar, and I want to weigh in here ...
I lived one block west of Coconuts for a little more than six months. On Friday and Saturday nights, Coconuts gets packed. I never went in the place, though -- I was told by the neighbors that Coconuts had a women-only policy on weekend nights.
There is a big open parking lot right behind my old apartment, and it used to fill up on Fridays and Saturdays with Coconuts' clientele. That place always seemed to be packed until closing time. And the crowd could get pretty rambunctious.
While I remember seeing a fair share of 20- and 30-something women frequent Coconuts, there always seemed to be more 40- and 50-somethings around.
I remember hearing verbal fights in the parking lot out back. But I never heard gun shots. And though those women were a little wild and crazy, even I was shocked to hear about this. I wonder if it will have a negative impact on the bar's business.
Violence like this can scare people away from a bar or club. But Coconuts is the only lesbian bar in town -- at least that I know of. And there are plenty of clubs such as Paradox that have fights outside on a semi-regular basis and still do well.
It could go either way.
(Photo by me)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
"And there are plenty of clubs such as Paradox that have fights outside on a semi-regular basis and still do well.
It could go either way."
unlike the bar.
Posted by: Allan | March 12, 2009 9:39 AM
Just a comment about lesbian bars, port in the storm is still open, and sappho's above grand central caters to a diverse crowd including a large number of lesbians. damn, this is a really tragic story, i hope the other two people make it ok.
Posted by: Sam | March 12, 2009 10:17 AM
just wanted to agree with sam, that coconuts is definitely not the city's "only" lesbian bar. port in the storm and sapphos are both lesbian bars.
Posted by: kd | March 12, 2009 10:44 AM
I used to work right around the corner from Coconuts and would go there with co-workers for lunch or happy hour, but it was not crowded at those times and was a pretty tame place to be. I wouldn't really classify this as a bar fight, once beatings with pipes are involved you start thinking hate crime, and once guns become involved you start thinking let's find a new bar.
As an aside on the lesbian bar front, I've noticed that Luca's in Locust Point seems to have a pretty regular lesbian flow.
Posted by: AC-M | March 12, 2009 10:48 AM
Whoops! Totally forgot about Port in a Storm. Geez, you'd think I'd know better. Sigh.
I don't count Sappho's, since it's technically a wing of Grand Central. But Port counts.
Also, Allan ... Zink!
Posted by: Sam Sessa | March 12, 2009 11:32 AM
Laughing Pint? it's a "port" satellite!
Posted by: redman | March 12, 2009 3:09 PM
To quote Homicide: Life on the Street:
This is Baltimore, home of the barfight.
Posted by: bryanintimonium | March 13, 2009 9:37 AM