DAYTON — The man who police say likely helped save hundreds of lives by preventing Oregon District mass shooter Connor Betts from entering Ned Peppers bar early Sunday morning said he was not concerned about his own safety, according to ABC News.
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In an exclusive interview, Jeremy Ganger, a bouncer at Ned Peppers, told the network that when the shooting started, he remained at his post, and helped people through the door to safety.
“My job’s the door,” he said. “I protect the customers, and my guys that work there as well, all the staff members, so when I saw the chance to step up and help do my job, my part, that’s all it was. My job.”
Betts killed nine people, including his sister, and wounded nearly 30 others, police said. Officers shot Betts before he could enter the bar.
>> Ned Peppers manager praises staff for their efforts to keep people safe
As the gunman was shooting, Ganger held the door, allowing an estimated 200 people to escape through the bar’s back patio and delaying Betts until police arrived. At one point, as more shots rang out, he felt something like a nip on his leg and ignored it, according to ABC News.
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“I would’ve died before that guy came in,” he said. “Our patrons are more important than one active shooter, so I was going to try to stand my ground the best I could.”
Ganger estimated the shooter was less than 3 feet from him when Dayton police officers shot Betts.
“He looked at me straight in the eye,” Ganger told ABC News. “That’s why — I don’t know if you saw the footage, you see him pause for a second — it’s because he’s looking at me. Like, ‘Why are you holding the door?’ So he knew I was there waiting. That’s what I wanted him to know. I hope I’m the last thing he remembered.”