A man who was accidentally shot by an FBI agent in a Colorado nightclub said he thought someone had set off a firecracker before realizing blood was oozing from his leg — an incident he's still in shock about.
Thomas Reddington was at Mile High Spirits Distillery and Tasting Bar early Saturday morning when he was struck by a bullet in his left leg. Reddington told ABC’s “Good Morning America” he was sitting at a picnic table in the distillery when a loud bang rang through the area.
"We sat down at one of those picnic tables -- I heard a loud bang and I thought some idiot set off a firecracker," Reddington said.
He added, "Then I looked down at my leg and see some brown residue ... I'm still thinking it's a firework ... all of a sudden from the knee down my leg became completely red. And that's when it clicked in my head, 'Oh, I've been shot.'"
FBI AGENT ACCIDENTALLY FIRES GUN WHILE DANCING AT A DENVER NIGHTCLUB
The bizarre incident unfolded when an off-duty FBI agent broke out into a dance routine, did a back flip that caused his gun to fall out of his waistband holster.
The agent was seen on video, taken by a patron, grabbing his gun, which then discharged. Denver police said an “unintended discharged occurred” when the agent, who has not been formerly identified, retrieved his gun.
Reddington recalled blacking in and out as someone called 911 for help.
And then I woke up to a paramedic putting a tourniquet on my leg,” he recalled. "I soaked through several blankets, several towels, a few gauze pads.”
"It's bizarre. It's beyond bizarre," he said about the incident. "It's beyond comprehension I think right now for me just with all the factors involved.
PATRON SHOT BY FBI AGENT AT COLORADO NIGHTCLUB TO RECEIVE FREE DRINKS 'FOREVER'
Police interviewed the agent after the shooting before releasing him to an FBI supervisor. The Denver Police Department's homicide unit is investigating, and charges filed will be determined by the district attorney's office.
The distillery released a statement Monday on its Facebook page saying it was shocked by the shooting, the only one that has occurred at the establishment. The owners offered to give Reddington complimentary drinks “forever.”
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