CALGARY – Police said they responded to a shooting at Ten X Nightclub at the 1100 Block of 10 Avenue southwest just before 2 a.m. Sunday morning. A 38-year-old man was shot and taken to hospital in stable condition.
Two men are now facing charges after a gunman opened fired inside the Calgary nightclub.
Two of the club’s bouncers are being credited for saving more people from being shot, as they put their lives on the line to tackle the gunman.
Spencer Wallace considers himself lucky to be alive. The part-time nightclub bouncer narrowly missed being shot.
“I hear a gunshot and I see a guy get shot in the chest and I watch a door explode and watch a nightclub go from perfectly calm to sheer panic in about 10 seconds,” said Wallace.
At around 1:30 a.m., three men pulled up in front of the nightclub. Two waited in the car, while the other walked up to the front door and fired several shots inside, when one victim was shot, police said.
“One of our other staff (was) there and started to apply pressure right away to him. So for 10 seconds, he was unattended before one of our guys was on him trying to help,” said Wallace.
“I watched people get glass showered over them. If I was doing a pat down at the time, I would have been in this guy’s line of fire and I could’ve been shot.”
Witnesses said the shooter was jumped by staff right away, with the loaded gun still in his hands.
“The camera footage shows other people, customers sprinting away. He tackled the guy right away. No hesitation. An average-sized guy, mid 30s, nice guy but no hesitation from him at all. He knew what he had to do and he put himself on the line to protect people that he didn’t know,” said Wallace.
“So they were wrestling a guy with a cocked handgun, who had already opened fire on innocent people.”
The Calgary police gang suppression team happened to be on scene at the time. One passenger in the vehicle tried to help the shooter and got away. The third person in the car was arrested. Two men are facing six charges each.