Windsor bouncer shot at Boom Boom Room 'happy to be alive'
Police have charged two men in connection with the shooting
Devonte Pierce says he'll never forget the moment he realized he was shot.
"It's weird. I didn't hear a gunshot at all, maybe because music was playing."
The 20-year-old was working as a bouncer at the Boom Boom Room, a downtown Windsor nightclub, at the time.
He was trying to get some people to leave the club in the early hours of Oct. 5 when he felt something like being hit from behind.
"The first two seconds felt like a punch to the back," he described. "Your first initial reaction is, look behind you to see who punched you. But I looked down because my shirt kind of, I felt like air came out of my shirt, out of the front of my shirt."
Pierce started to realize he'd been shot from the scent afterwards. It's a smell he said he'll never be able to forget.
"It was like a gun residue, mixed with my shirt and like...flesh. It was a really nasty smell."
What had felt like a punch was actually a gun that had been placed against his back and fired.
"You don't really realize it's a gun[shot] especially when it's on your back. You don't really know what hit you, but then you smell the gun residue and you clue in, you see all the people running. Everything kinda stands still and survival mode kicks in and [you] kinda realize what happened to you."
3 days in ICU, scare of losing kidney
After being shot Pierce said he ran into the street where he saw a police officer. He waited on the hood of the police cruiser while help was on the way.
"The police kept me calm, kept everyone away, kept telling me everything was going to be okay."
Pierce underwent surgery and spent three days in the intensive care until at the hospital. He has since been moved to a recovery floor.
"I remember waking up, but I knew what happened," he said. "I have a gunshot to the back, But it kinda went through everything. It hit my kidney and my liver, a laceration on my liver and kinda just hit my kidney. It was pretty painful."
There was a scare he may lose one of his kidneys, but Pierce said he has been recovering well.
"If he shot me an inch higher, and inch to the left, and inch down it could have paralyzed me, or I could have bled out."
'So happy I'm alive I'm not even angry'
Pierce said he's eager to get out of hospital and move forward with his life.
"Nothing really changes," he said. "It was a bump. I just go back to doing what I've always been doing. Going back to school, delay of sports, but other than that I'm just trying to go to school and get my education."
Pierce who plays basketball and football won't be able to practice for several weeks.
"I appreciate life in general. I don't take it for granted. It opened my eyes to a lot more things," he said. "I believe I'll fully recover. The scar will always be there ... but you know it doesn't really bother me at all," he said.
"Psychologically I'm not an angry person. I'll just move on. I'm so happy I'm alive that I'm not even angry at the situation."
2 men charged with shooting
Police recovered a handgun from the scene and two male suspects, who are from Brampton, have been charged.
A 20-year-old man is facing an attempted murder charge, as well as careless use of a firearm and unlawful possession of marijuana.
A 24-year-old man has been charged with being an accessory to attempt murder, as well as possession of a firearm while prohibited and careless storage of a firearm.