ATLANTA — Aaliyah Strong knows firsthand the dangers of Atlanta's nightlife industry. Her fiancé, Ty Ross, was working as a security guard at Encore Hookah Bar and Bistro in downtown Atlanta when he was killed.
"My fiancé was shot and killed in front of me," Strong explained.
She was working as a server at the bar on February 2, 2022, when Ross was shot and killed by a customer he apparently refused to allow inside the club.
"And obviously, things escalated," Strong said.
Since her fiancé's killing, she founded the non-profit "Tyme to Thrive Beyond Grief.' Strong advocates, educates and assists victims and survivors of gun violence along with their loved ones.
Her latest conversations have been with family members of those who were shot on Sunday inside Elleven 45 Lounge on Peachtree Street in Buckhead.
"There were so many people who have been affected by this one isolated incident," she said.
Atlanta Police said six people were shot just before 2:30 a.m. on Sunday inside the club. Two of the victims, identified as 21-year-old Mari Creighton, a rising senior volleyball player at Albany University and 20-year-old Nakyris M. Ridley, both died on the scene.
The four other victims survived and remained in the hospital as of late Monday night. Police said the shooting was targeted, and one of the victims killed was the intended target, but police didn't clarify which victim.
Police said on Monday afternoon they had a suspect and believed an arrest would be made "very shortly."
"We know that safety in nightlife in Atlanta is an issue; it's progressively getting worse," Strong explained.
Strong has many questions surrounding the deadly shooting, including questions about the security team working that night.
“A firearm made it into the location; there were people inside the location that were underage," she said.
Strong hopes this tragedy will highlight the importance and need to continue Mayor Dickens' Training Day workshops.
The first-of-its-kind meeting launched in April 2022, just months after Strong's fiancé was killed.
"Which was a way to train business owners, security teams, community members, on ways of how we can keep night clubs and lounges safe in Atlanta," Strong explained.
11Alive covered the inaugural workshop, which saw more than 170 stakeholders come together to discuss ways to make the city's nightlife safer for everyone.
"We need to go back to where we started. Let's reimplement training day so we can make sure everyone gets a seat at the table," Strong said.
She made it a point to explain, "I don’t think the answer is to shut down all nightlife across Atlanta."
Strong added, "We need business owners, patrons, and community advocates like myself. I think everyone needs a seat at the table because this problem is multi-layered, and I don’t think there’s one solution, and it’s not going to happen overnight."
The next Training Day workshop for nightlife operators is scheduled for June 11. You can sign up here.