Joseph HardinWASHINGTON -
Friends of 30-year-old Joseph Hardin are speaking out about his death. The Alexandria man was shot and killed early Saturday morning outside of the 1920 DC nightclub along 9th Street in Northwest D.C.
His friends say it started with an argument inside. Later on, as Hardin left the club, he was shot.
Police arrested 24-year-old Cedric Spicer near the scene.
Police Chief Cathy Lanier ordered the nightclub, and the restaurant which owns it, temporarily closed out of concern for public safety.
Hardin's friends say he graduated Hayfield Secondary School in Alexandria back in 2000 and attended college on a basketball scholarship. They say he was the first in his family to earn a degree.
Tony Nylander, who grew up with Hardin, says, "Everybody is going to say he's a statistic and we want everybody to know he wasn't one of those guys running the streets."
Hardin leaves behind two sons.
"His future is gone and for what?" says Hardin's long-time friend Armon Saunders. "You know ... for something so petty. It just needs to stop."
They are planning a vigil for Hardin later this week. There is no word yet on funeral arrangements.
