Photo: Facebook
A man was shot and killed at a bar last week less than two weeks before his wedding, multiple outlets report.
Christopher Smith, 41, was celebrating his bachelor party with friends on Friday night at Jake’s Pub in Indianapolis when bargoers saw a patron carrying a handgun. Smith, according toWXIN, was shot and killed just before 10 p.m. local time when witnesses say he attempted to stop the gunman.
When Indianapolis Metropolitan police officers arrived at the scene, they found two men shot, the outlet reported, the second victim said to be in “stable condition.” No other injuries were reported.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
An initial report filed for the ongoing investigation shows police have identified at least two unnamed suspects, both white males, and that investigators interviewed at least six eyewitnesses.
Smith, a pastor, was set to marry his fiancée Schena Singer, whose sister, Shanon Singer-Mann, told WXIN that Smith was “very, very happy.”
Christopher Smith.Facebook
“To go from supposed to be going to your bachelorette party to having to go and plan your fiancé’s funeral, it’s just so tragic,” Singer-Mann said. “You’ll never understand why something like this happens, never.”
Singer-Mann said Smith’s intervention with the shooter prevented more lives from being lost.
“They had yelled out: ‘This guy has got a gun. Call the cops, this guy has got a gun,’ ” she said. “When they did that, my brother-in-law jumped up and tried to charge the guy to try and keep him from doing anything.”
She added: “He’s one of the most selfless men I’ve ever met. … And I really believe him taking those bullets and getting shot and killed was his one last selfless act before he went home to be with God.”
Jake’s Pub in Indianapolis.Google Maps
Jake’s Pub, which was closed on Saturday after the tragedy, issued astatementon its Facebook page over the weekend.
In the comment section of the post, the Jake’s Pub spokesperson also said the owners were “very baffled” at the situation, which is unlike anything they’ve had happen in their 18 years of business.
“My hope is that the world will get just a glimpse of what an amazing man Chris was. He wasn’t just some thug in a bar fight,” shewrote. “He was a great man. A godly man. Simply and only there to celebrate getting married and without reason a fight or anything his life was instantly taken so others weren’t.”
She continued: “His memory will last forever from his heroic act from the love from my sister and his family church and friends. Heaven is a lil more wonderful with him in it.”
source: people.com
