After receiving multiple calls reporting gunshots and a fight at the Lakewood CC clubhouse in Salemburg, N.C., Sampson County deputies responded at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 3rd. One victim died later that day and several others suffered severe head trauma, stab and gunshot wounds. The club’s Director of Golf Operations called the incident the “unlucky” result of renting out the facility for a private party.
A brawl that broke out over the 4th of July weekend during a private party at Lakewood Country Club, a public golf and swim club near Salemburg, N.C., left one person dead and several others seriously injured, The Washington Post reported.
Deputies responded about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, July 3rd, after receiving multiple calls reporting gunshots and a fight at the clubhouse, according to the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, the Post reported.
“Responding deputies discovered several groups fighting upon their arrival and attempted to break up the fights,” a statement from the sheriff’s office said.
In the midst of the chaos, one deputy was cut on his arm, the Post reported, citing a report from WNCN, a CBS television affiliate serving the Fayetteville-Raleigh area.
Two people were shot, one person was stabbed and one person was beaten during the altercation, the sheriff’s office said. One victim was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries, and the other victims were transported to a different hospital, the Post reported.
One victim—identified as Anthony King—died around noon on Sunday the 3rd, the Post reported, citing a report from WRAL, the NBC affiliate in Raleigh. The station reported that other victims sustained severe head trauma, as well as stab and gunshot wounds.
Authorities said no arrests have been made, the Post reported. “The investigation is still in the preliminary stages, however the initial results indicate that the clubhouse was rented out to a person for a private party,” the sheriff’s office statement said.
“The motive for the altercation is not yet known,” the statement added.
Reached by phone, a club spokesman referred all questions to the sheriff’s office, the Post reported.
But the Post reported that Director of Golf Operations Curt Pritchard did make an earlier statement to WRAL that suggested the altercation was a freak accident.
“We just got unlucky last night, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” Pritchard said, according to the Post. “We’re proud of this place, and we’re going to continue to put our stamp on it as a safe environment and family- oriented.”
Capt. Eric Pope of the sheriff’s office told WRAL that conditions at the club were ripe for trouble, the Post reported.
“You had close to 100 people here,” Pope said. “You had alcohol involved, which is always a recipe for disaster when you have that many people and alcohol involved.”
Jerry Faircloth, identified as a club Board member, told WRAL that he lives near the club and heard about one dozen gunshots and screaming coming from the club overnight, the Post reported. Faircloth said the club hasn’t hosted violent parties in the past, and said that he expects changes to the club’s rental policy.
“We’ll be more careful about who we rent the clubhouse to,” Faircloth told the station.
Lakewood CC was founded in 1966 and its website promotes its “beautiful swimming pool complex, an attractive and spacious clubhouse for all events and a public 18-hole, par-72 golf course,” the Post reported.
The Sampson Independent, a newspaper serving Sampson County, reported that Lakewood’s clubhouse building is frequently rented out for wedding receptions and gatherings, the Post reported. The Independent also reported that while crime-scene tape had been taken down at the club by noon on Sunday, June 3rd, other “signs of the ruckus” were visible, such as “fresh circular tire marks” in the center of the parking lot.
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