The mayor of East St. Louis says he will meet this morning with the owner of a nightclub where a teenage girl was shot and wounded over the weekend.
"How in the world did a gun even get into the club?" Mayor Alvin Parks said Monday morning. "We have questions about security."
A 16-year-old girl was shot in the abdomen Sunday at Club Rolex, 3803 State Street. She was treated at a hospital and is expected to be okay, Parks said.
Parks didn't have the details on the shooting, and the police chief could not be reached for comment Monday.
Parks identified the club owner he'll meet with as Bobby Williams. Parks said he will discuss the matter more in depth when the meeting is over.
The mayor isn't focused only on the club. He wants to hear from the girl's parents, too, he said.
"A 16-year-old should not be on the premises," Parks said. "The issue will be, why was she even out (after curfew), which has very little to do with the club. We'll have that question for the parents."
The curfew for someone that young is 10 p.m. The shooting was closer to midnight.
In September, Parks announced that people under the age of 18 would be arrested if they were not home by 10 p.m. The move was in response to a deadly weekend in which a man, 18, was stabbed to death in a dispute and three young men died after being shot in a parking lot of Club VIP at 6830 State Street.
Club Rolex has no liquor license now, Parks said Monday. Parks said he plans to confirm with authorities that liquor was not on the premises when the girl was shot. In September 2012, a special crime sweep in East St. Louis led to charges against three nightclubs, including Club Rolex, for violations of the Illinois Liquor Control Act.
