GoFundMe created for bouncer of Dodge City cowboy bar that tackled shooting suspect
A man who was shot in a deadly altercation at a Dodge City bar on Sunday is being called a hero.
A GoFundMe identified 40-year-old Austin Zink as a bouncer working during a Halloween party at the Central Station Bar and Grill early Sunday when gunshots rang out.
“They had the unthinkable happen when a man entered and opened fire,” said his sister Jessica Zink. “He shot a total of 4 men, 2 of which passed away.”
Austin Zink tackled the shooting suspect, 36-year-old Ricardo Johary Cadena-Garcia, outside of the club and tried to subdue him, Zink said.
“Unfortunately he wiggled free and then proceeded to shoot Austin 3 times,” according to the GoFundMe. “He was shot once in the hip, once in the arm and then in the abdomen.”
Austin was flown to Wichita where he remains hospitalized. As of Monday afternoon, he was in stable condition, the Eagle reported.
“Austin was truly selfless by saving others with his act,” the fundraiser said. “He has a very long road ahead of him with at least a week stay in the hospital and then the recovery at home.”
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation on Monday identified the men killed in the shooting as 28-year-old Abraham Morales-Santos and 29-year-old Antonio A. Cabrera, both from Dodge City.
A fourth man, a 27-year-old, was treated and released after the shooting.
Cadena-Garcia fled after the shooting and was later apprehended in Oklahoma. He remains jailed in the Beaver County Jail in Oklahoma “on a warrant for capital murder connected to the deaths of Morales-Santos and Cabrera, as well as attempted first-degree murder, and aggravated battery,” the KBI said.
“Austin has 3 young kids that he loves dearly and cares for,” the fundraiser said. “They are his whole world.”
Central Station owner Albert Soto called Austin a hero.
“I want to start a circle of prayers for Austin Zink,” Soto said in a Facebook post. “A true HERO who tackled the shooter outside and in the process got shot 3 times.”
