Shooter Apprehended After Firing at WBLM Building Security Guard [UPDATED]
But not without a knuckle sandwich first.
Gunshots reverberating through Monument Square are not exactly what you want to hear on an early Friday morning. For Mike Conicelli, our security guard here at One City Center, that's exactly how his day started.
LISTEN TO SECURITY GUARD, MIKE CONICELLI, TELL HIS STORY ON OUR SISTER STATION Q97.9:
A man was hovering around the front entrance of One City Center when Mike asked him to move along. The man grew confrontational and Mike asked him to leave one more time. That's when he pulled the gun.
He fired four times, hitting the front entrance windows and shattering the glass in two sections. Miraculously, Mike dodged the bullets and charged the shooter, connecting his fist to the man's head. The man stumbled and recovered, sprinting down the street as Mike chased him down, one hand aching from the punch, another dialing 9-1-1.
The shooter was apprehended by police and all are safe here at One City Center.
Hey Mike, you're our hero.
UPDATE: Q97.9, our sister station, spoke with Mike on air this morning and he told them, "I didn't know it was a real gun. I thought it was a cap gun or a pellet gun, because it didn't sound like gun shots. That's why I pursued him."
Police surrounded the shooter as Mike chased him toward the Portland High School building. It wasn't until Mike returned to the building and saw the shattered glass and bullet holes that he realized the gun was real.
"If I had known it was a real gun, I would've responded differently."