Bouncer in critical condition as police investigate nightclub shooting

A man who was shot and seriously injured at a downtown Edmonton nightclub this weekend was a bouncer who triedto stop the gunman from getting inside, his mother told CBCNews.

Geoffery Summers, 31, was working at Alibi Ultraloungeon 100th Street and Jasper Avenue.He kicked out a group of people for causing trouble on Saturday night, said his mother, Jodi-Anne Anderson.

At around 1:40 a.m. on Sunday, the groupreturned with a gun.

One of them fired several shots through the entryway. A bullet hit Summers in the chest.

• Man injured in shooting outside downtown Edmonton nightclub

Another bouncer pulled Summers out of the way and started applying pressure to his wounds. Paramedics and police arrived within a couple of minutes, Anderson said.

A spokesperson from AlibiUltraloungesaid the four people kicked out of the bar were known for being troublesome. The spokesperson did not know whether the shots were targeted at the bouncers or the bar itself.

Summers, who is six-foot-nine, remains in hospital in critical but stable condition, Anderson said. The bullet severed arteries and shattered his arm. Anderson said she was told by adoctor her son would have died had he not been so tall.

She's grateful no one else was injured.

"The people that were in that bar, I don't think they even knew what was going on," she said. "They have no idea what these bouncers did to save these people's lives. Because it could have been pretty bad.

"There were a lot of saved people that night. The bouncers did their jobs and they did it really well."

Anderson said her son doesn't seem to realize he was the only one injured. He can barely speak and was initially in a medically induced coma.

"He worries about everybody else but himself," she said.

Police investigating

No one is in custody and no charges have been laid. The Edmonton Police Service said its investigation is progressing.

AlibiUltraloungewill beopenagain this weekend, management said.

A GoFundMe account has been started for Summers, who had worked as a bouncer for 12 years.

He had recently startedas a mechanic at LexusSouth Pointe. Atemporary position there turned into permanent work for the past three months, but Summers didn't yet have benefits.

He was very well-liked at work, service manager Shauna Meakin said.

"We love him so much that we decided, probably two weeks in, that he wasn't going anywhere," she said. "He's always making jokes and taking care of our customers, helpful with coworkers.

"We're devastated at the dealership."

Anderson said her son loved cars and was doing well with his job at Lexus. He was growing tired of dealing with bar patrons as a bouncer and had talked about giving up the job.

She said her son'srecovery could take more than a year, and she's thankful his friends and coworkers have stepped in to support the family.

"He's always the good guy and always the one that's calming people down," she said.