A fast-acting Tennessee security guard unleashed a barrage of bullets at an attempted mass shooter who fired recklessly into a busy nightclub crowd.
The explosive shootout took place just before 2 am on January 26 in the parking lot outside of the Dream nightclub in Chattanooga, after a gunman started firing at a group outside the club.
Chilling surveillance footage showed one of the club’s security guards – who appeared to be wearing body armor – calmly raising his weapon as he steps in front of cowering clubgoers diving to the ground below.
The graphic footage then showed the armed security personnel returning fire using an assault rifle, shooting what appeared to be about two dozen rounds, in just a matter of moments.
The guard paused shooting for brief second before tracking his target and resuming.
The gunman, who was later identified as a 24-year-old man, suffered a non-life-threatening injury to his hand in the shooting, LocalNews3 reported.
He was arrested after he turned up at a hospital, according to Chattanooga Police.
The club’s head of security, Joe Reed, believes the attack was planned.
A fast-acting Tennessee security guard unleashed a barrage of bullets at an attempted mass shooter who fired recklessly into a busy nightclub crowd
Chilling surveillance footage showed one of the club’s security guards – who appeared to be wearing body armor – calmly raising his weapon as he stepped in front of cowering clubgoers diving to the ground below
‘You could tell it was plotted,’ Reed said before commending the security staff on a job well done.
‘The gun was given to the police department and everything. It was quick action by our licensed security guard who did what he had to do to protect innocent lives.’
One of the club’s owners, JaMichael Smith, later confirmed the guard worked for him and commended his response to the shooting, telling LocalNews3 that the employee did what was needed to protect the customers.
Other surveillance footage showed the unidentified 24-year-old parking his car down the road from the club before the attack.
After exiting the vehicle, he then crossed the road and headed towards a fence lining the nightclub.
The gunman then ducked behind cars parked outside the popular club before opening fire.
‘If any one comes down here with that foolishness, they know now that Dream security has zero tolerance,’ Reed told LocalNews3.
The late January shooting was just the latest to happen at the Dream in recent months.
The guard (left) paused shooting for brief second before tracking his target and resuming
The late January shooting was just the latest to happen at the Dream in recent months
The club’s head of security, Joe Reed (pictured), believes the attack was planned. ‘You could tell it was plotted,’ he said before commending the security staff on a job well done
Weeks earlier, on December 1, a 22-year-old was left injured after gunfire broke out inside the bar when two customers got into a fight.
That shooting left the bar with a five-day alcohol service suspension that was issued just days ago, WDEF reported.
Following the near-fatal shooting Reed claimed the nightclub ‘upped’ its security presence and improved protocols.
‘We upped the amount of security that we had. We have ten security here, we upgraded our metal detectors, we have cameras all over that can catch every angle,’ Reed said.
Brandon Woodruff, an employee at the under-fire nightclub, is now asking for ‘real action’ from city leaders.
‘I want to talk about implementing something that could lead to real action,’ Woodruff said. ‘I want laws and codes to be established that actually shield nightclub owners and intensify the penalties for the crimes that happen at these types of places.’
The city of Chattanooga – 133 miles from Nashville – has also had a spate of nightlife shootings in recent years.
In 2023, one man was killed in an attack outside a bar.
A year before that in June 2022, three people were killed and 14 injured in an early morning shooting outside another nightclub, KnoxNews reported.
Days earlier, six teenagers were injured in a shootout on the streets of downtown Chattanooga.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .