Actor and comedian Craig Robinson experienced a scary situation at one of his shows, when someone opened fire in the North Carolina comedy club where he was set to perform less than an hour later on Saturday, July 16. The Office actor was backstage at the time. Officials said there were no injuries, and they were able to apprehend the alleged shooter. Robinson’s show, however, was canceled, and he took to Instagram Live to inform his followers about what was happening.
About 50 people were inside The Comedy Zone when employees said a man walked in just after 9 p.m. Saturday — about a half-hour before Craig Robinson was set to hit the stage — waving a gun and demanding everyone leave the building, WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina, reported. Police said after everyone was evacuated, the shooter fired the gun inside the club. Officers detained the suspect and were working to determine his motive. Meanwhile, Robinson — who’s likely best known for the role of Darryl as a member of the cast of The Office — updated fans on Instagram following the incident:
I’m performing at The Comedy Zone in Charlotte, North Carolina. There was an active shooter in the comedy club. … I’m safe. It’s cool, we cool. It was just wild. I was in the green room, they were like, ‘Everybody get out!’ It was wild. It was a moment, for sure.
Craig Robinson was taken to a nearby venue, where the band Big Time Rush was performing a concert. As the actor responded to concerned fans — and commented on the lively show happening in the background — Robinson can be heard asking someone off-screen if anyone in the comedy club had been shot. He was told they didn’t think anyone had been hurt and that the shooter might have fired into the ceiling.
Despite any disappointment about the canceled show, the most important thing is that nobody was physically injured. Check out Craig Robinson’s full Instagram Live video from the moments after The Comedy Gold was evacuated:
Employees said that there was “a lot of chaos,” on the scene, and WSOC reporter Tina Terry tweeted images of the heavy police presence that responded to the AvidXchange Music Factory, where The Comedy Zone is located. Check out the local coverage below:
BREAKING: There is a large police response outside The Comedy Zone in Uptown Charlotte. Workers tell me dozens of customers and employees evacuated after someone entered the club with a gun. @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/lmHPfT7S07July 17, 2022
Aside from The Office, Craig Robinson has been in a number of TV shows and movies that you might've forgotten about. including Hot Tub Time Machine (and has a mind-blowing idea for a third movie), Pineapple Express and Dolemite Is My Name. As well as those movies, he had a memorable recurring role as “Pontiac Bandit” Doug Judy on Brooklyn Nine-Nine (and on some of its most memorable episodes), and he’s leant his voice to a number of projects as well, including The Bad Guys, American Dad and Big Mouth. And when it comes to stand-up, Robinson may also be working on a secret Netflix special.
We’re relieved there were no injuries in the incident in North Carolina, and our thoughts are with Craig Robinson and all those affected by what was still an alarming situation.
