An MMA fighter-turned-security guard is being hailed as a hero for immobilizing an ‘incoherent’ gunman who tried to storm a gentleman’s club – a hectic encounter captured entirely by the club’s security cameras.
The close call happened early Sunday morning at the well-known Mons Venus dancers club in Tampa, and saw one of its security members, 58-year-old Manuel Anthony Resto, prevent what police said could have been a mass shooting.
A seasoned bouncer with 30 years of experience, Resto, better known as Manny, has a background in MMA and professional wrestling – and was thus ready at 1:15 am Monday when suspect Michael Rudman, 44, suddenly appeared at the club’s door.
Donning a devil mask and too incoherent to speak, according to police, Resto immediately knew something was afoot – and soon noticed the man had the words ‘kill’ and ‘darkk[sic] one’ scrawled on both of his arms.
Initially brushing it off as a prank, Resto would jump into action when he noticed the man had a gun. He proceeded to make quick work of the masked marauder, potentially saving more than 200 people partying inside.
‘I saw him raise his hand, and he had a gun,’ Resto explained at a press conference called on Tuesday, as cops released heart-pounding footage of the encounter.
‘I saw him pointing it towards the door. And I decided that he was not going to enter the club and hurt anybody.’
The clip showed the brief-but-intense altercation in full, which became physical as Rudman – now in custody – strode toward the entrance with a fully loaded pistol in one hand and a flashlight in the other.
As the suspect attempts to open the front door, Resto confronts him, and within seconds snatches the handgun, which falls to the floor.
Footage shows a brief physical struggle between to two similarly sized men before Resto gains control of the firearm, leading an unarmed Rudman to attempt to fight the bouncer hand-to-hand.
That said, Resto, despite being nearly 15 years the other man’s senior, remained in control, reverting to his decades of experience in combat sports to hold his own.
Dodging and weaving punches while offering some of his own, Resto eventually deters his attacker enough to put some distance between them, and immediately eyes the downed handgun.
While the suspect is out of frame, Resto rushes to pick the firearm up, pointing it as his assailant as he reproaches for round two.
