KELLY, North Carolina — A Bladen County party host has been charged with four alcohol and gambling offences after state agents searched the property where two people were shot in the early hours of November 1, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety announced on November 4. Special agents with the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement Division (ALE), working with the Bladen County Sheriff's Office (BCSO), executed a search warrant at the Kelly property following the shooting at what the department describes as an illegal alcohol establishment, and seized 136 malt beverages and 32 bottles of spirituous liquor. Rodna Montell Robinson, 39, of Currie, was identified as the host of the party and charged; the shooting itself remains under investigation by the Sheriff's Office, and no arrest for the shooting was announced.
The shooting happened on Sunday, November 1, 2026, at approximately 5:54 a.m., when Bladen County deputies responded to a report of a shooting at a party held at 3462 Highway NC-11 in Kelly, according to the Department of Public Safety. Two attendees were struck by gunfire and sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The department's release does not name the two injured people, does not identify a shooting suspect, and does not describe what led to the gunfire — those questions sit with the Sheriff's Office investigation, which is still open.
How a shooting call became an alcohol case
During the initial investigation, Bladen County deputies suspected that alcoholic beverages were being sold on the premises without a permit and contacted ALE, the Department of Public Safety said. ALE special agents subsequently obtained a search warrant for the property, and ALE agents assisted by the Sheriff's Office executed it. The seizure — 136 malt beverages and 32 bottles of spirituous liquor — is the physical evidence at the centre of the alcohol case now filed against the host.
The four charges against Robinson
Robinson, 39, of Currie — a small community in neighbouring Pender County — was identified as the host for the party and has been charged with: possession and sale of alcoholic beverages with no permit; possession and sale of non-taxpaid alcoholic beverages; possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages with no permit; and misdemeanour gambling, according to the Department of Public Safety. The charges are allegations in a criminal case that will proceed through the courts; the department's announcement does not give a court date, a bond amount, or whether Robinson was taken into custody or cited.
In its announcement, ALE said it "remains committed to partnering with local law enforcement agencies to eliminate illegal alcohol operations that jeopardize public safety and contribute to violent crime in North Carolina communities." That framing is the agency's stated reason for treating an unpermitted party venue as a public-safety case, not only a licensing case: the Kelly property drew a state search warrant only after two people were shot there.
Background: ALE's role in North Carolina
ALE is the state agency charged with enforcing North Carolina's alcohol laws, including the permit system that governs where and by whom beer and spirits may legally be sold, and the taxpaid rules that govern liquor supply. An unpermitted venue sits outside that system entirely — no permit conditions, no permitted hours, no taxpaid product — which is why a single property can draw charges covering sale without a permit, non-taxpaid liquor and on-premises consumption without a permit at the same time, as the Kelly case does. Kelly is an unincorporated community in Bladen County in south-eastern North Carolina, and Highway NC-11 is the state route running through it; Currie, the host's home community, is just across the county line in Pender County.
What is not yet known
The Department of Public Safety release answers the alcohol side of the case and leaves the violent side open. It does not say who fired the shots on November 1, why, or whether investigators have identified a suspect; it does not name the two injured attendees or update their condition beyond the initial non-life-threatening description; and it does not say whether anyone else faces charges from the party. Awaaz Punjab is reporting only what the state release establishes, and will update readers if the Sheriff's Office announces an arrest in the shooting.
What happens next
Two tracks now run in parallel in Bladen County. On the alcohol track, Robinson's four charges — three alcohol offences and misdemeanour gambling — move into the court process, where the state will have to prove the allegations and Robinson can contest them. On the shooting track, the Bladen County Sheriff's Office investigation remains open, and the Department of Public Safety urged anyone with information regarding the shooting or illegal alcohol sales in the area to contact local authorities or submit a tip to ALE.