A backyard club in Sampson County was the site of a shooting over the weekend that injured a Roseboro man.

The incident occurred sometime in the wee hours of Sunday at the Peter Rabbit Club, 150 Willie Brown Road, Roseboro, when the victim, 36-year-old Ellis Antonio Boone, walked outside and was struck in the leg by a bullet.

Boone, of Gold Street in Roseboro, was unable to provide law enforcement officers with any information about the shooter.

Sheriff’s corporal Marcus Smith said it appeared that officers were called to interview Boone by hospital officials at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where the victim reportedly went for treatment.

Hospital officials are bound by law to report gunshot wounds to officers.

After being called to Cumberland County hospital, officers interviewed Boone who, reports note, provided little detail about what occurred at the club.

“All the report shows it that he told officers when he stepped outside the club he was shot by an unknown person,” Smith said.

Boone was shot in the left leg and was treated for his injuries and released.

Officers are still investigating the case and have asked that anyone who was at the club last Saturday night or anyone who might have information about the incident call them at the Sampson County Sheriff’s Office, 592-4141.

Smith said this was the first recent incident at the Peter Rabbit Club, but it certainly isn’t the first. That club was the site of a murder a few years back and other, similar clubs have been under scrutiny in the past for other alleged criminal activity, including shootings.

“The backyard clubs are not a place for law-abiding citizens,” Smith admonished.

While the clubs, themselves, are not illegal, much of the activity that takes place within their walls usually is.

“It’s all about what takes place at these clubs,” Smith stressed. “That’s where the problems arise. Most of these backyard clubs end up being places for drug activity and the sell of illegal alcohol. It’s not the club, it’s the crowd the clubs draw.”