ALE investigating violence at Rhino Club

A man was stabbed inside of the Rhino Club around two Sunday morning. Police say the Rhino Club along with other bars including Sidebar and City Limits, have had a number of fights outside of their doors. They also said this is not the Rhino Club’s first violent incident.

Since June 2009 the club has had two problems inside. On March 16th of this year a woman was hit in the head with a beer bottle and jumped by four other women.

Just ten days later, another woman was punched while at the bar by another woman.

Rhino Club owner Sean Tobin could not talk with WWAY on camera Tuesday but issued this statement: “We are 100 percent cooperating with the Wilmington Police Department. Our customers are our friends and we don’t want this kind of violence in our bar. This weekend’s stabbing is unacceptable behavior. It’s not an on-going concern because we do pat people down. Not females, but we pat males down. It was a horrible act, but when alcohol is involved people don’t act rationally.”

According to ALE special agent Ted Carlton, the stabbing is above the ordinary and got their attention.

ALE is conducting an investigation with the Wilmington Police Department to determine what exactly happened early Sunday morning.

Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the ALE might draft a violation report that would be sent to the ABC commission. The commission will then make a decision on whether to pull the Rhino Club’s liquor license to avoid more violent incidents like the stabbing this past weekend.