Bar Staff 'Shaken' Hours After Dayton Shooting as 'Hero' Bouncer Hospitalized for Shrapnel Wounds

Employees are still reeling hours after the deadly mass shooting that took place on a popular street near the Ned Peppers Bar in Dayton, Ohio.

Opening up about the frightening ordeal, during which nine people were killed early Sunday morning, the staff said they were at a loss to explain “why this occurred in our safe entertainment district.”

“First and foremost our thoughts are with the victims of this tragedy,” a post shared on the bar’s Facebook page read. “We are shaken and confused.”

According to the bar staff, the shooter — who was wearing body armor and carrying a .223-caliber rifle as well as a high-capacity magazine — “started down the road and made his way towards our business.”

They went on to explain that police were able to respond to the shooting so quickly as they were already nearby at the time.

“We have police regularly staffed next to our business who engaged the shooter and neutralized the threat,” the post read. “Dayton Police could not have done a better job responding to this senseless act of violence. We cannot commend them high enough. We are assisting them still in every way we can in their investigation.”

RELATED: 9 Killed, 27 Injured in Mass Shooting in Dayton, Ohio, Less Than 24 Hours After El Paso Attack

Although the bar staff had previously said their staff was all safe following the shooting, they did respond to a post from a commenter who enquired about one of their “hero” bouncers, who reportedly “was the one who stopped the guy at the door.”

In response, the bar staff wrote that “he was sent to the hospital for shrapnel related injury’s [sic] but will be ok.”

The commenter also shared, “I was 20 feet inside the bar and could’ve easily gotten killed if he hadn’t stopped him at the door.”

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At a press conference on Sunday morning, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley also thanked the police, saying that had it not been for their quick response, “hundreds of people in the Oregon District could be dead today,” reported the Associated Press.

Dayton police said on Twitter that the shooter was also killed and 27 other people were injured.

The Dayton mass shooting occurred just hours after 20 people were killed in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.