Two injured in shooting outside Warrenton nightclub
Sep. 27—WARRENTON — Two men were injured early Sunday in a shooting that apparently happened outside a controversial Hall Street nightclub that city leaders would like to see closed.
Warrenton police found one of the men lying on the ground in the street, and later were notified that the second was at Maria Parham Health in Henderson with injuries. Doctors had one of the men airlifted to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill for treatment.
Police Chief Goble Lane said the 1:30 a.m. incident "appears to have happened in the street next to" Roxie's Sports Bar & Lounge, which is at 109 S. Hall St., about two blocks from downtown Warrenton.
In addition, "all involved patronized the bar," Lane said, adding that the man officers found on the ground was about 21 years old.
The chief added that police do have "one potential suspect," but as of about 3 p.m. on Monday they had not made an arrest.
The incident was the latest in a string of incidents around the club this year that in the summer prompted Lane to write to the N.C. ABC Commission, asking it to revoke the club's temporary licenses to sell beer and liquor.
Those had been scheduled to expire on Sept. 23, but as of Monday, the commission's database was reporting that they'd been extended until Dec. 22.
Prior incidents this year have included a January homicide at the Speedway convenience store across Hall Street from the club, with a suspect who confessed later telling police "they were heading to Roxie's from Henderson and that was the only reason they were in town."
There was also a late-January shooting on the property of Roxie's that injured two juveniles, and another shooting on June 18 that saw authorities recover five spent shell casings afterward.
Lane said Sunday morning's incident is the first with-injuries shooting "that was reported" there since the one in January involving the two juveniles, and the first of any time since the one on June 18.
His letter to the ABC Commission called the club "a sore on the community" that "should not be allowed to continue operating under [its] current business plan" because "doing so infringes on the rights of others to live peacefully in their own neighborhood."
He also told the commission that to maintain control of the area, his department was putting three officers in the area every Friday and Saturday, and forcing the Speedway to close between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. to prevent loitering.
Contact Ray Gronberg at rgronberg@hendersondispatch.com or by phone at 252-436-2850.
Contact Ray Gronberg at rgronberg@hendersondispatch.com or by phone at 252-436-2850.
