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Tacoma Mall shooting victim uses humor to inspire 20 years after tragedy
Thursday marked 20 years since one of the darkest days in Tacoma when a 20-year-old man opened fire inside the Tacoma Mall. Dan McKown, one of the victims, is sharing his story.
TACOMA, Wash. - Thursday marked 20 years since one of the darkest days in Tacoma when a 20-year-old man opened fire inside the Tacoma Mall.
The backstory:
On November 20, 2005, Dominick Maldonado shot 7 people and took four hostages, which included two workers, a customer and a young boy.
Tacoma Police took him into custody later that day, and he was convicted and sent to prison in 2007.
All 7 victims survived the mass shooting, but were left with life-changing trauma and injuries.
FOX 13 talked to one of the heroes from that day, a man from Yelm, who drew a weapon and tried to save others before he was shot himself.
"I tend to lose track of things and then start doing jokes," said Dan McKown, injured in Tacoma Mall shooting.
Opening with a joke is the way Dan McKown likes to roll.
"Run over the camera, got it," he said, joking with FOX 13 photographer Adam Sotelo during the shoot.
The professional comedian has been making people laugh since the 80s. He said his first joke, played on a childhood classmate, had him hooked on comedy.
The young man asked, ‘When does February begin?’ He was trying to date his page. I let that marinate and I said, ‘The 1st,’" said Dan, explaining the joke. "That one probably won’t make the cut," he added, laughing.
But, what he faced on the grey day at the Tacoma Mall in 2005 was no laughing matter.
"Twenty years ago I got shot five times and I got paralyzed," said Dan.
Dan said he was working as an assistant manager at a cutlery shop when Maldonado walked into a different store and started shooting.
Dan happened to be armed, and the master of stand-up decided it was time to stand up for others.
"Drew my gun, threw myself in the frame of the store where I could look down," said Dan.
When he didn't immediately see Maldonando, he started to put his gun away.
"I thought, ‘I’ll put my gun away, but I’ll put my hand on it. That way, if I need it, it will be there,'" he said. "I take one step and that’s when he comes into view."
Dan hesitated to shoot someone so young and tried to talk to him instead.
"I said, 'Young man, I think you need to put your weapon down,'" said Dan. "He responded by filling me full of bullets."
Dan was hit five times in the area of the stomach and leg, and was rushed into hours of surgery after finally reaching the hospital. He was paralyzed and still suffers from pain and other injuries.
"I think it’s important that we seek God because that’s really kind of what manages things in the big picture," said Dan.
Dan revisited the spot where he was shot 20 years ago and sent us this photo of the location below.
Courtesy: Dan McKown
With Maldonado later convicted and sentenced to more than 160 years behind bars, Dan hopes the life he spared in deciding not to shoot will be a life changed.
"He’s got an extension on life. Hopefully he doesn’t waste it," Dan said about Maldonado.
Maldonado is pictured below.
Though the shooting took much of his mobility, Dan's spirit and humor remain as strong as ever.
"I love the fact I have a lot of footnotes in medical journals," said Dan.
He's now gotten into podcasting and makes others laugh on his YouTube channel and at Danmckown.com.
"We’ve got a big foot hunting sketch on there, I think is kind of fun," said Dan.
Some heroes don't wear capes, but wield a microphone and inspire others with a joke and a mean set of wheels instead.
"What I want to speak about, is the fact that we choose to be courageous or not," said Dan. "Courage is a choice. Choose courage."
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The Source: Information in this story came from Tacoma Mall shooting victim Dan McKown and original FOX 13 Seattle reporting and interviews.