Darin Wall, the bassist of Seattle-based metal band Greyhawk, apprehended a gunman during a show on Sunday night (September 5) in Boise. Thanks to his quick and selfless thinking, a potential full-on disaster was avoided, however Wall unfortunately fell victim to the man's fire when he tried to confront him.
In conversation with KTVB7, Wall explained that he first noticed something wasn't right when he happened to witness the behaviour of a man, known as Ethan Byrd, outside the music venue. Byrd, who was seen making "finger gun" motions while pretending to shoot out into crowd, was prevented from entering the building by Wall and a fellow bandmate.
"I don't know if anyone else saw it," he says. "I got a weird feeling right away. Sometimes you confront really wasted people, or really drunk, they're really angry and they're shouting and they're belligerent. This guy was really cold, I would say".
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Byrd left the area, but quickly returned with a gun he had retrieved from his car, stuffedninto his trousers. It was at this point that Wall tackled the gunman, but was shot in the leg during the scuffle.
"I saw him reach behind his back and grab the gun. That's when I moved in," said Wall. "No other options went through my head. The gun was in the pocket of his pants, and he shot me through his pants, and got me in the upper thigh.
"I did get lucky with the location of the shot. It's in a place that's not damaging anything that's gonna be permanent. We don't think.
"The show up until everything went down was just an incredibly good time full of joy, full of love. It was a big party, and it was awesome. Hug your family members, hug your friends. Tomorrow is never guaranteed, so be good to each other."
Byrd was soon arrested by Boise Police and metal hero Wall is now recovering at home.
In a Facebook post, Greyhawk wrote in a joint statement: "We are rattled and exhausted, but grateful to be alive and breathing! If it were not for quick thinking on the part of Darin and others on the scene, it is very possible that lives would have been lost.
"Thanks so much to all of you who have already reached out in support of Darin, and special thanks also to the Boise Police Department, the staff at St. Alphonsus Medical Center, and the community members who stepped up and offered their help."
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