"Thunder From Down Under" strippers' brawl sparks mom's ire
LAS VEGAS - The mother of the man accused of sparking a backstage brawl last month with members of the Thunder From Down Under male review knows her son was in the wrong, but she also believes the male strippers should share the blame.
According to the Las Vegas Sun, Vegas resident Zina Kadmiri just wants to know what happened and is worried the investigation is pinning everything on her son, Joey Kadmiri.
Kadmiri, 24, got into a fight with six dancers in the Excalibur male strip revue March 18 when they caught him backstage with props and costumes from the show, according to a Metro Police report. One of the dancers noticed that their property was out of place, and while he and another dancer were looking through it, police say Joey came up and said the items were his. A struggle began, and Joey allegedly pulled out a gun and narrowly missed shooting one of the dancers in the head, according to the report.
The dancers knocked the gun out of Kadmiri's hand and subdued him, leaving him battered and bruised and in need of medical attention. Excalibur security stepped in until Metro Police arrived, according to the report. The strippers then went on to finish their show.
In the interview with the Sun, Zina Kadmiri said her son has mental health problems, but said his alleged violent acts during the incident are out of character for him.
"They should have all been arrested -- not just take one and leave the strippers on the loose," Zina said in an interview last week.
The suspect's 21-year-old sister, Mariam Kadmiri, who was also interviewed by the Sun last week with her mother, said it is frustrating that the performers took the law into their own hands and have been rewarded in the media for their cowboy actions.
"Their jobs are to take off their clothes; security is there to protect," said Mariam Kadmiri.
"If they would have just called security they could have detained him. They didn't have to beat him up."
Joey Kadmiri was charged last week in a 17-count indictment that included one count of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, one count of burglary while in possession of a firearm, six counts of robbery with use of a deadly weapon, and discharge of a firearm within a structure.