Bristol or Tombstone? Town leaders decry strip club violence

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BRISTOL, Wis. (AP) — A Dane County strip club has decided to voluntarily shut down after shots were fired outside the business three times within a week and the Bristol town board threatened to pull its licenses.

The most recent incident happened early Sunday morning outside Club Bristol when authorities said some of the 16 to 18 rounds that were fired hit a car that was occupied. Four days earlier an intoxicated man reportedly fired several shotgun rounds into the side of the building and three days before that shots were fired in or near the club’s parking lot.

The Bristol town board has scheduled a meeting Tuesday to consider suspending the club’s liquor and adult entertainment licenses and reviewing its lighting and security measures, the State Journal reported.

“We’re not turning this town into Tombstone. Period,” town chairman Gerald Derr said. “Everything’s going to be on the table.”

Business co-owner Rich Bickle said the club already has metal detectors, security cameras and lights in the parking lot and is ordering an ID scanner that can verify an ID’s authenticity and allow staff to track customers who have caused problems in the past and aren’t allowed back.

“We’re just trying to nip this in the bud,” Bickle said. “We’re working on trying to make it right.”