Hand grenade – Photo: Andreadonetti, via Dreamstime.com
A former Marine deftly and successfully disarmed a man who brought a grenade into a gay bar in Wilton Manors, Florida.
The incident happened at local watering hole The Corner Pub on Tuesday around 9 p.m. The man reportedly walked into the bar and displayed a grenade to the bartender.
“He said, ‘Don’t be scared.’ It kinda freaked me out a little bit,” bartender Joseph Shakespeare told ABC affiliate WPLG. “I was just thinking, ‘Stay calm,’ because we have a lot of people in there, and this is our community, so I want to keep everybody safe.”
Shakespeare said the man also claimed to have guns in his car.
But Darrell Darling, a former Marine, overheard the conversation and stepped in to help.
“He was agitated at somebody in the bar, looking to pick a fight,” Darling said. “He had shown me a grenade immediately as I walked up. It looked real.”
Darling says he knew the owner had called police, so he tried to keep the man preoccupied. He says he and the man bonded over their military and police service, allowing others to quietly escape the establishment.
“As people started to clear the bar, I used certain intentions to just keep his focus on me so we would be the last ones leaving the bar,” Darling said.
Darling then convinced the man to leave with him to go hang out. As they stepped outside, he tackled the man to the ground and prevented him from pulling the pin on the grenade.
“He could be a threat — I don’t know how’s he’s feeling, so I grabbed one hand, swept his full leg out and just put my full weight on the back of his body so he could not get up,” he said.
Police then stepped in to arrest the man.
The Wilton Manors Police Department did not release the man’s name, but described him in a news release as an “emotionally disturbed male” who was also “intoxicated” and “in need of mental health services.” They confirmed he had an inert grenade — meaning it could not have been detonated — in his possession, but did not have any firearms on his person.
The man reportedly told police that he was “distraught” by the “recent deaths of close friends.” Police say he has since been taken to a facility to receive the necessary mental health services he needs.
Shakers, a D.C. bar particularly popular with various LGBTQ recreational sports leagues, has announced on Instagram that it will be closing its doors on Sunday, Nov. 23.
In the Nov. 17 Instagram post, Daniel Honeycutt and Justin Parker -- also proprietors of the since-closed The Dirty Goose bar -- shared that after "many, many difficult discussions," they have decided to leave the LGBTQ nightlife industry. The couple said they looked forward to taking extra time to spend with their 3-year-old son.
The post also noted that Keaton Fedak, the owner of Kiki and a former employee of The Dirty Goose, would be taking over the space at 2014 Ninth St. NW, which includes two indoor bars and a large enclosed patio.
A Florida man has been arrested and charged with the murder of Girlalala, a 21-year-old transgender TikTok influencer, after allegedly shooting her during what appears to have been a dispute between the couple.
Broward County Sheriff's Office deputies say 25-year-old Shanoyd Whyte Jr. shot Girlalala shortly before 7 p.m. on Friday, November 14, while the two were sitting in a car on the side of the road in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida.
According to Miami-based WPLG, video from a nearby Tesla shows a man believed to be Whyte getting out of the driver's side of a sedan as Girlalala tries to exit the passenger side. He appears to grab her by the hair and force her back inside before pacing outside the car with a cellphone in hand.
Ihab Mustafa El Mahmoud was arrested in West Palm Beach after allegedly trying to run down members of an LGBTQ running group during a meet-up in a local park. The Florida man faces two counts of aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony and one count of reckless driving.
El Mahmoud could also face hate crime charges or bias enhancements for allegedly targeting the group because of their sexual orientation.
According to West Palm Beach police, El Mahmoud allegedly took offense at what he perceived as a comment about his sexual orientation when a runner asked if he was at Howard Park for the "Night Runners West Palm Beach" group's regular meet-up.
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