Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - He Brought a Loaded Gun Into Our Bar—And We Were Seconds Away From a Real Tragedy #6

Episode Date: July 30, 2025

#horrorstories #reddithorrorstories #ScaryStories #creepypasta #horrortales  #danger #guns #closecall #barincident #neartragedy  “He Brought a Loaded Gun Into Our Bar—And We Were Seconds Away From a Real Tragedy”A terrifying real-life account of a night that spiraled dangerously out of control when a stranger brought a loaded gun into a bar. The tension builds as seconds tick by, and patrons face the chilling reality of how close they came to disaster. This story highlights the fragility of life and the unpredictable moments that test courage and survival instincts.A pulse-pounding narrative of fear, quick thinking, and the razor-thin line between safety and catastrophe.  horrorstories, reddithorrorstories, scarystories, horrorstory, creepypasta, horrortales,  danger, guns, closecall, barincident, neartragedy, suspense, survival,  fear, quickthinking, lifesavingmoment, chillingnight, threat, armedencounter,  urbanhorror, tenseescape

Friday nights at the bar were usually chaotic, but familiar. That kind of chaos that you grow numb to when you've been working security long enough. You've got lines out the door, the smell of beer already thick in the air, base thumping through the walls, and a sea of 20-somethings trying to forget the week. I had just walked in, hoodies still on over my security shirt, barely clocked in, when the night decided to go sideways. John, one of the big bouncers I worked with, came striding over. Now, John was the kind of guy who'd prank you every chance he got, so when he leaned in and said,

Hey, we got reports that some guy at one of the tables is showing off a gun, I straight up laughed in his face. Told him to get lost. But then he grabbed my arm and gave me that dead serious look that wipes the smile off your face. No, man, I'm serious. People said he's flashing a gun to his friends. Suddenly, that joke I'd made a million times about having to handle a firearm situation didn't seem so funny anymore. My stomach dropped. I took a breath and said, all right, we got to tell management right now and figure this out.

Within minutes, the whole staff was on alert. Me, John, the manager, and a bartender made our way toward the table where the alleged gun kid was sitting. I tried to keep it calm. Didn't want to make a scene unless there actually was one. I approached the guy and said, Hey man, listen. I'm a CCW holder myself, and I understand you might be carrying.

If that's true, we can't allow that here. Would you mind stepping out and locking it in your car? To my surprise, he was chill. Nodded and said, yeah, I'll go put it away. I felt a wave of relief. We watched him walk out and down the block. Problem solved, right? Thirty minutes passed.

Kid comes back, cool as ever. I walk over and ask, Hey man, did you put your firearm away? He goes, yeah, I stored it in the bushes over there. Excuse me? In my head I'm screaming. But I kept it together and said, All right, well, since there was a firearm involved,

we're going to need to pat you down, just to be sure you didn't bring it back in. He nods, no protest. John starts patting him down. Everything's fine until John gets to the guy's ankle. He straightens up and glares at him. You think we're stupid? I'm like, what?

What's the problem? John looks me dead in the eye. He's got the gun in his sock. Before I can react, the kid starts to back up. The gun slips out, hits the floor with a loud thump. Everything froze. Me and John stare at it like it's a damn bomb.

My hand shoots to my back belt loop, where I keep my taser pulse holstered. I pull it, arm it, red dot aimed center chest. Don't move, I said. John's gonna grab the firearm, and we're gonna handle this. To his credit, the kid didn't move an inch. John picked up the gun and hustled it to the manager inside. We both shout for them to call the cops.

Now the kid just stands there. Zoned out. Not saying much. Not doing much. Just, blank. Manager radios me, holster your taser. He's complying. I do, but stay alert.

We ask him to take off his backpack. If he had a gun in his sock, there could easily be another one in there. He hands it over. No fuss. Meanwhile, one of the bartenders, who happens to be in the National Guard, starts inspecting the weapon we recovered. He ejects the clip, 10 rounds of 9mm. Then he racks the slide. One in the chamber. And the safety? Off. The red that was showing. We were this close to a tragedy. John loses it. Gets in the kid's face, screaming. I try to pull him back, but I'm pissed too. I tell the kid, you make CCW holders look like clowns. Still, the kid doesn't react. No fear.

No remorse. Just, empty. Like the lights were on but nobody was home. I started to wonder if he was high or something. Turns out I wasn't wrong. While all this was going down, one of the kids' buddies tried to sneak off with the backpack. Smooth, real smooth. Our manager spotted him and yanked it back.

Back in the office, they opened it up. Another fire-on. Bag of what looked like Xanax bars. Big bag of coke. Little bottle of weed. So yeah, that kid was dealing. And probably on something heavy. We kept him there for what felt like an eternity, maybe ten minutes, until the cops finally showed.

We yelled at him, full of adrenaline and anger and disbelief. Cops took the gun, the drugs, and the kid. Whole place had been watching like it was a show. Some were trying to leave, some just stood around. It amazed me how people didn't instinctively back off. One guy had a loaded gun fall out of his clothes and folks are like, ooh, what's happening over there? We tried to push the crowd back, but there's only so much you can do when the front

entrance is your only entrance and exit. Cops through the kid in the back of the cruiser. He was 19 years old. Just a damn kid. And finally, he broke. Started crying. Found out later he had fired that same gun at a party earlier that night. Got in a fight and pulled the trigger.

By the time he got to us, he was strung out on Xanax and whatever else, just floating through the night with two guns and a backpack full of drugs. Me and John talked about it a lot afterward. The way that gun hit the ground. It could have gone off. Could have killed one of us. And we both admitted it, we had no training for that kind of situation. Just instincts and adrenaline.

We did what we could. We did our jobs. But man, I was shook. When the dust settled, I wanted to cry. For days I had nightmares, replaying it. thinking about how close we came. Not because I was scared of dying, but because I kept seeing someone else die. A kid. A stupid, drugged out, lost kid who threw his life away. He didn't pull the trigger on us, but he might as well have. And yeah, he'll probably end up in prison.

He made that choice. But it's still tragic. Drugs and poor choices and maybe some mental health issues turned that kid into a walking time bomb. That night taught me a lot. About danger, about how fragile safety is, and about how little we're actually prepared for the worst. I always wanted to be a cop, and this was like a trial by fire. But the truth is, we don't get paid enough to be heroes. Still, I'm proud of what we did. We protected the people in that bar. We made it home. I hugged my girlfriend that night like it was the first time I'd seen her in years. My dog jumped up on the couch and I just sat there, holding him, thinking about how different things could have gone. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't clean. But we did the right thing. Thanks for sticking through this

long post. I know it's heavy. The story needed to be told. I've got other stories, some funny, some weird, some just plain stupid, that I'll probably post soon. But this one, this one stuck with me. And if you take anything from it, let it be this, be aware. Stay sharp. And if you ever feel like life's too much, talk to someone. Don't end up like that kid. The night ended, and we survived. That's what mattered. The end.