A Florida bartender is being hailed a hero after he jumped into action to help a woman who had a gun held to her head.
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David Ghiloni, who works at Smiles Nite Club in Palm Coast, didn’t know the assailant was pointing a gun at the woman’s head when he decided to tackle him — a key detail that made Ghiloni’s decision to intervene quite dangerous.
But the 23-year-old hero saw the man was assaulting her and decided he needed to take action.
“I was protecting her,” Ghiloni told Fox News of the Nov. 20 incident. “I didn’t even know there was a gun involved until I did tackle the guy.”
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office later awarded him the Lifesaving Award for his bravery.
“Ghiloni is shown on surveillance footage jumping over the bar to protect the female victim who the suspect, Connor Anderson, had put in a headlock and placed the gun to her head,” a statement from the sheriff’s office reads. “Ghiloni and bar patrons continued attempting to subdue Anderson as he began to recklessly fire the gun several times within the bar.”
Cops said these actions to thwart the chaos allowed the woman and other bar patrons to flee. Authorities believe Ghiloni and others saved lives that day.
“This courageous act of protecting the female and fighting off this shooter without a doubt saved lives that night,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “I’m honored to be able to recognize David, who so selflessly helped those in need and put his own life in harm’s way to protect others.”
Fortunately, the situation ended positively for all involved. Considering the weapon’s presence, the scenario could have gone much differently.
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