Boom Boom Room adds metal detectors after shooting

New safety measures have been implemented at The Boom Boom Room, the scene of a shooting two weeks ago.

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An employee named Devonte Pierce, 20, was shot and is still recovering in the hospital.

"We saw a necessity for change. We’re going to try our best to control situations like this," the club's manager, Renaldo Agostino, said.

Customers are now greeted differently at the door at the Boom Boom Room.

"Since the incident, we've now taken on mandatory pat downs, and brought in some metal detectors and we've increased security in certain parts of the evening," he said.

Agostino also says the club now has police officers positioned out in front.

Pierce says bar fights are more dangerous than they have been in the past.

"They don't use their hands anymore, it's a knife or some kind of weapon," he said. "It can be dangerous [at] any bar, really, not just the Boom Boom Room."

Agostino says his security staff had received training before and after the shooting. He says they are trained by the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services.

By law, all bouncers must have a security guard licence, issued by the ministry.

New bouncers, or doormen, must pass a mandatory test, undergo a criminal record checks and first-time bouncers must complete 40 hours of training.

The 40 hours of training includes sensitivity training, emergency preparedness and use of force in various situations.

"We usually have four to five trained security guards that work inside the building, trained by the ministry," Agostino said.

Pierce says he was not prepared for what happened on the morning he was shot.

"If you're going to do something, if you're going to do a job, make sure you get the proper training, make sure you're safe," Pierce said. "Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into."

Agostino says not all staff member are required to be provincially trained.

Brent Ross, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, said in an email that any paid employee whose work "consists primarily of guarding or patrolling for the purpose of protecting persons or property must be licenced under the [Private Security and Investigative Services Act] regardless of the job title given the individual by the establishment."

Agostino said Pierce is an usher and not a bouncer and didn't require any additional training or a security licence.

"If you have a security licence, you’re a security guard. If you don’t have a security licence, you’re not a security guard," he said.

Agostino said an usher’s job is to keep the crowd moving forward and prevent a crowd “from gathering.”

"They’re not supposed to be involved in those types of altercations," he said. "If they see something, they report to a security guard."

Pierce says he has no plans to work in the club scene again.