VANCOUVER — If Vancouver comedian Dave Shumka hadn’t ducked just as a stranger pointed a gun at his head and fired, he might not be alive.
Shumka, who also works for the CBC and is co-host of Stop Podcasting Yourself, was one of the bystanders in a bizarre shooting July 4 at 26th Avenue and Main Street.
In a blog posted on Tumblr Wednesday, Shumka said he was leaving a comedy show at 11:15 p.m. with about 50 other people when a man ran into the crowd with something concealed under his shirt.
“He then walked up to me and my friend and said, ‘Hey how’s it going?’ He pulled out a handgun, lifted it up to my head and fired point blank,” Shumka wrote.
“I didn’t realize what was happening at the time, but I ducked. I ran away and heard him fire two more times.”
Shumka was grazed on the head and has posted a photo of the injury on his blog site.
Shumka, who wrote that he still has ringing in his ears from the shot, declined a request for an interview on Thursday.
Vancouver police Const. Brian Montague said the shooter, a 34-year-old man who was known to police, turned the gun on himself and later died in hospital. He said the man got out of his car, shot in the direction of two apparent strangers, then shot himself in front of stunned bystanders.
While Shumka was grazed by the bullet, the other person shot at was uninjured.
“All things considered, I’m really lucky,” Shumka wrote. “Not only am I alive and didn’t witness him shooting himself, as so many did, I have extremely supportive family and friends, I have an understanding employer and I have resources to talk to.”
On his blog, Shumka made reference to the attacker’s state of mind: “The shooter was mentally ill and wasn’t so lucky. The lesson I’m taking away from this is that we need to make mental health a priority in ourselves and in our communities.
“Support your local mental health organizations in whatever ways you can, financially and by forcing politicians to take the issue more seriously.”
On Thursday morning, Montague said the investigation into the shooting and the motive behind it is continuing, but it appears to have been random.
“There is no known connection between the shooter and the two men he shot at,” he said in an email.
Montague said police are not releasing the shooter’s name.
