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Ricardo Eugene Ray, 18, of the 300 block of Anacostia Road in Washington, D.C., was shot multiple times in his upper body while he was driving in his car around 3:15 a.m. Monday in the 7300 block of Central Avenue in Capitol Heights, about six blocks from the venue.

Officer Henry Tippett, a spokesman for the Prince George's County Police Department, said Ray and the unidentified suspect got into an argument leaving the concert featuring members of the Suitland-based Total Control Band.

According to police, the suspect drove an unidentified vehicle alongside Ray's vehicle on Central Avenue, fired multiple gunshots and then continued driving. Ray was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

County Police Chief Roberto L. Hylton said in a statement, "Although nightclub violence has been significantly abated in 2009, events featuring TCB continue to harm our communities. The PGPD stands shoulder to shoulder with our community leaders against the proliferation of violence masqueraded as entertainment."

Fears about violence spurred the cancellation of a show Nov. 25 in which TCB was scheduled to perform at the Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro.

County police have banned officers from working at the band's shows because they say there is a propensity for violence, including large-scale fights, robberies and vandalism at businesses in surrounding communities.

Tippett said police were not aware of the band's performance at Le Pearl, and there may have been an increased security presence around the venue if they had.

"If we don't know a band is playing somewhere, there's not a whole lot we can do," Tippett said.

A motive for Monday's shooting is unknown, and the investigation is ongoing, Tippett said.

The band's manager, Ben Adda of Washington, D.C., defended TCB on Tuesday as being unfairly singled out as a source of crime.

"We try to do the best we can to make sure it's a safe environment," including having security inside and outside a performance venue, Adda said. "When someone leaves a venue, are we responsible for them all the way until they get home?"

He said the band and the show's promoters are planning to raise money to contribute to Ray's funeral expenses and said the band was upset to hear about the shooting.

He said violence after TCB shows is infrequent. Police should use the band as a resource in reaching out to youth in the community, Adda said, such as collaborating to create neighborhood interventions and mediations.

"What more can we do?" Adda said. "You don't blame the principal of the school because there is violence at the school every day."

In November 2008, Washington, D.C., resident Marcel Dessin, 22, was shot on the same road, in the 6800 block of Central Avenue, after driving back with two friends from a concert at Le Pearl.

After The Gazette's press deadline, a manager for Le Pearl, Eric Pickens, said the venue provides security inside, as well as outside in the parking lot and immediately surrounding the facility on Central Avenue.

Pickens said Le Pearl is not responsible for notifying county police about the possible need for additional police presence in the community and further down Central Avenue.

He said police may not have realized the band playing Monday morning, Polo and the Boys, is a derivative of TCB, with the two groups sharing several members.

Anyone with information about this case should call the Prince George's County Police Department's Homicide Unit at 301-772-4925. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Solvers at 866-411-8477.

The Prince George's County Police Department is offering a cash reward of up to $25,000 for information that leads to an arrest and indictment.

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.