Oregon District Shooting: Bouncer still at it ‘because if I don’t come here and work, he beats me’

Jeremy Ganger, working as a bouncer at Ned Peppers in the Oregon District the night of the mass shooting in 2019 that left nine people dead, continues to “man” his weekend post at the business three years later.

“It’s really hard for me to come here every weekend but the reason why I do is because if I don’t come here and work, he beats me,” Ganger told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott on Thursday, the third anniversary of the incident.

>> RELATED: Ned Peppers bouncer recalls thinking ‘I’ll die before you come in here’

Ganger ushered as many people as he could into the bar and then stood in the doorway to block the gunman who tried to come running inside seconds later.

The trauma prompted him to find work in the mental health and drug addiction fields, to help him work through his PTSD from the mass shooting.

“I’m sharing my story with my clients and then sharing their stories with me, it helps me out a lot,” he said.

>> VIDEO: How the 9 Oregon District Shooting victims will be remembered

Ganger continues to deflect attempts to label him a hero for what he did. He said he considers the Dayton police officers who gunned down the assailant the true heroes deserving of that kind of honor.

Even with the traumatic memories of that night, Ganger said he wants the memories to live forever because of the lessons that can be learned.

“I want people to understand we need that we need to start treating each other with the utmost respect and love and stop the hate stop the violence,” he said.