A brawl in the Blue Note nightclub on Friday night has prompted the Hilton hotel to increase its security after the fight spilled over into the parking lot.
Police have promised to “rigorously” investigate the entremely violent and embarrassing incident, but said they had not received any formal complaints.
The R.M. Bailey High School prom was also held at the hotel on Friday night; however, it could not be confirmed if the fight was in any way connected to prom celebrations.
According to eyewitness reports, the brawl allegedly erupted shortly after 2:00am, and was reportedly between three men and the boyfriend of a young woman.
The brawl started on the dance floor, forcing the DJ to shut down. He announced that the police had been summoned and were on the way.
It was at this time that the security at the Blue Note escorted the men downstairs, where the skirmish resumed in the parking lot of the Hilton.
“You had tourists running for cover while these guys, about 20 of them I think, scrambled around for bottles, and one of them was walking around with a metal chair. It was embarrassing,” a source told the Tribune newspaper.
The 20 men involved in the brawl are thought to be either in their late teens or early to mid-20s, and from prominent Bahamian families, said the source.
A white Dodge Caravan – registered to Rico Sanchez-Morino was damaged along with two other vehicles parked in the hotels’ lot.
According to another eyewitness, a young man was assaulted and chopped in the face before losing consciousness.
“Another man was laying in a pool of blood for some five minutes. By the time I left no police or ambulance had arrived,” said another source.
As a result of the incident, taxi drivers at the hotel have called for more policing of the area to protect Bahamians and tourists.
Publicity
“Unless these young men are educated about the importance of tourism, we are going to find ourselves in a situation like Aruba, which is getting a lot of negative publicity worldwide because of (Natalee Holloway).
“The scenes inside and outside the hotel were disgraceful. I saw six tourists running for cover, terrified of what was happening,” the driver said.
Michael Hooper, general manager at the British Colonial Hilton, said that as a result of the fight security will be increased on Friday nights, and the management of the Blue Note has been asked to do the same.
In a separate incident last week, a group of women tourists were reportedly attacked and nearly raped near their hotel, the Palm Resort, on West Bay Street. The male attackers escaped with the women’s purses containing credit cards and cash.
By: Paul G. Turnquest, Tribune Staff Reporter
