A security guard has been hailed a hero after he prevented a mass shooting.
Manuel 'Manny' Anthony Resto was working a shift at Mons Venus strip club in Florida, US over the weekend when a masked man approached the door. This is what happened next:
In footage shared by police from the shocking incident on Sunday night (19 March), a man - who was wearing a red t-shirt and a black and red 'devil' mask - holding a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other is seen charging towards the door.
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At first, only seeing his outfit, Resto said that he thought it was some kind of joke. But it wasn't.
"And I was 'OKokay, it's not Halloween," the 55-year-old recalled. "Maybe it's some type of trick or gag, you know, because I used to, I was a professional wrestler. I mean, I know a lot of big guys.
"I've worked security for 30 years. I know a lot of bouncers. I thought it was one of my friends playing a trick on me and he didn't say a word.
"And I was waiting for the punch line. Then all of a sudden he came right up to me and he was a very big man. Very big. I saw him raise his hand and he had a gun."
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In the CCTV footage, Resto can be seen trying desperately to wrestle the gun from his hand, with it eventually falling to the floor.
Panicked, the man stars throwing haymakers at the security guard, his arms flailing as the pair grapple with one another.
However, when the suspect moves out of shot, Resto races over and picks up the gun, pointing it back at him.
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Resto said: "So I concentrated on the gun and I grabbed the his gun hand and his wrists with both hands, and I turned it towards him. And then we started, you know, banging.
"What I wanted to do was get him on the ground and get the gun away from him. That was what I was trying to do when it happened."
Another guard, James Baham, eventually comes out and joins Resto to help subdue the shooter.
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Police said that the two guards involved suffered minor injuries and later identified the suspect as 44-year-old Michael Rudman.
And while his motivations are yet to be established, authorities said that he had more ammunition, knives and other firearm equipment in his truck. He also visited the club the night before.
Rudman has since been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, battery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and purchasing, possessing or receiving a firearm while under a risk protection order (RPO)
Tampa Police Department's Interim Chief Lee Bercaw said: "There is no question that the security guards who disarmed this suspect saved dozens of lives through their heroic acts, and I am thankful that our officers were able to take this individual into custody before he had the chance to carry out whatever he had planned."
Dominic Smithers