Bartender shot in dispute with underage drinkers
MINNEAPOLIS - A St. Cloud bartender says he's lucky to be alive after he was shot twice, in a confrontation that began when he tried to stop two underage women from getting a drink, according to CBS Minnesota.
Like most weekend nights, the Press Bar was packed just after midnight on Saturday. That's when bartender James Gackstetter said he spotted the two female customers.
"I asked one of them if they had turned 21 that I didn't know about. She said 'yes.' So I asked for her ID. She said 'no,'" Gackstetter told the station.
The women and their friend, 24-year-old Cordney Holmes of Mississippi, were asked to leave. Gackstetter followed them out intending to flag down a police officer, CBS Minnesota reported.
Once outside, the women and Holmes began yelling and spitting on him.
Then, he said, Holmes took the confrontation to another level.
"The suspect was staring at me," Gackstetter said. "He said some things to me, and then he fired upon me."
Gackstetter was shot twice in the abdomen. One of the bullets went through an index finger and ended up in his stomach.
A worker at a nearby bar called 911, and Gackstetter was rushed to the hospital and into emergency surgery.
Afterwards, Gackstetter was told he would make a full recovery. But, the station says, doctors decided to leave both bullets inside of him, because removing them would be too risky.
According to the station, police recovered a .38-caliber handgun and arrested Holmes three blocks from the shooting. He is charged with second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault.