Toucans shooting victim recounts the moment shots were fired

One of the men shot outside Toucans Tiki Lounge in Palm Springs is detailing the moment he was hit by a random bullet.

“I heard a gunshot, and after the first gunshot there was a really fast second gunshot and after that one I felt it (the bullet) in my leg and I felt like someone hit me with a baseball bat,” said Aaron Alter.

Alter was caught at the center of the gunfire. He says he quickly worked to get people inside the bar to safety before tending to his gunshot wound.

” I took off my belt and started putting a tourniquet around my leg. That’s when three other guys came running, sliding into me and, you know, helping pull the tourniquet tight, making sure I was safe, talking to me, keeping me calm, ” Alter said.

Alter said he didn’t know how severe his injury was.

“I started calling, my kids were my first thought, [I thought] if something is going to happen to me today, I want to at least say good bye and I love you,” Alter said.

Bullet fragments are stuck in his leg. Alter says doctors didn’t remove the bullet because it could cause more complications.

” There’s a very good chance that my muscles may reject the foreign bodies and push it naturally out. If its [thigh] bumped the wrong way it sends shock pain. It causes a tingling sensation. I get intermittent numbness, ” Alter said.

He expects recovery to take at least four months.

” We don’t know if I’m going to be able to go back to my dancing career. This is my career. This is how I make my money and survive, but right now, we’re just taking it day by day, ” said Alter.

Alter credits Toucans staff for acting quickly during the chaos and says there’s no way of preventing these kinds of situations from happening.

” I could’ve lost my life that night. I could’ve died very easily and there’s so much I still haven’t done and seen, my kids grow, and so much more I owe them, as a father, and I want to be there to show them. You’re a lot more thankful for those things you normally wouldn’t look at, ” said Alter.

You can donate to a GoFundMe page created for Alter. Wangs in the Desert will be hosting a fundraiser for Alter on Wednesday April 3 at 7 pm.