CALGARY — A laid-off oilpatch driller working as a bouncer said it was "just a reaction" when he jumped a gun-wielding assailant who was firing shots into a crowded nightclub.
Jay's heroics were caught on a widely distributed YouTube video outside the Ten X Night Club in Calgary at 1:30 a.m. Sunday.
Jay isn't the 39-year-old's real name, but he asked that his identity remain a secret for fear of a reprisal.
The video shows a white four-door sedan rolling to a stop outside the club's front door. A man with short hair and dark clothes with a pistol visible in his right hand jumps out of the passenger side and pulls a hoodie down over his head.
He leans inside the open door and shoots into the crowded nightclub.
A male and female patron duck for cover as broken glass sprays the area. Jay immediately jumps the shooter, pushes him outside against the car and attempts to wrestle the gun away from him. Jay is joined by a second bouncer who helps subdue the shooter.
Moments later, several members of the police gang suppression unit arrive and pull their guns. They force the shooter to the ground and drag the driver out of the car.
"A guy came in, didn't even make it through the front doors, and just opened fire. I tackled him and tried to restrain him and wrestled the gun away from him," Jay said while dropping his son off at school Tuesday.
"It was just a reaction. I just reacted to protect the staff that was there," he said.
He laughed at suggestions he had done something heroic.
"There were a lot of girls at the front there and he just wouldn't stop, so I just did what was necessary or what was needed to be done."
Police have said the actions of the two doormen and the speedy response of officers prevented the situation from becoming more violent.
One person inside the bar was struck in the shooting. The 38-year-old man was transported to hospital in stable condition.
Jay has quit his job. He is married with four kids and said the risk just isn't worth it.
He worked as a bouncer in his 20s, but opted to enter the oilpatch, where he was a directional driller for 12 years before losing his job a year ago and returning to bar security.
"Believe me, I didn't want to, but your choices are limited. There's not that many jobs out there and you don't have much of a choice."
Jay said he got a mixed reaction at home since he didn't tell his wife what had happened until the next day.
"She was at work, actually, and she couldn't hear the news or watch it. But she was getting emails and texts, so that's how she found out," he said.
"She said, 'You're stupid. You're crazy. What were you thinking?'"
Police haven't released a possible motive for the shooting. Two men are in custody and face charges that include attempted murder.
