This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected.
That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. Saturday, August 22nd in Tampa. Witness an MMA Legends final fight.
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To an unforgettable career. Saturday, August 22nd, live from Benchmark International Arena. For tickets, visit pfl.info/slash tampa. Indeed Sponsored Jobs gets you quality candidates when you need them most. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes.
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30 cents per gallon on your third, and more savings on every fill after that. Join the Shell Fuel Rewards program in the Shell app on your phone and enjoy life with more. Your nearest shell station is closer than you think. This is Our American Stories. And every once in a while we just tell great stories about ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things.
A mass shooting took place on November 7, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, California at the Borderline Bar and Grill, a country western bar frequented by college students. 13 people were killed. Tyler Spadey was one of the roughly 250 patrons there on that fateful night. Here he is to share his story of survival. and hope.
The week before the shooting. Um Uh it just gives kind of a story to what Borderline was. Um it was a Halloween night. where everyone goes and uh dresses up. And you have costume contests, and uh that night I went as the Uh little boy and up in the full Um Boy Scout uniform that I borrowed from my neighbor, and my buddy Jesse went as Donald Trump, and the whole.
The whole place was full of people in costumes, and my dad was in attendance, and my sister was in attendance, and everyone was uh. hanging out playing uh Playing pool. uh creating friendships Lion dancing and having a good time like you usually do at this place. And it it wasn't just uh a bar. Many people, when you think about it in the news, just think about it like that.
it was an eighteen plus place where people would go to socialize in the college years. It was a really uh amazing place where uh I had been going since I was eighteen years old, so five years prior to this happening. And knew just about every wo every person who regularly went there. and especially my friend group of about twenty people that uh would go regularly and play pool and uh do the things that college students do. But, um saying that this even happened in this place, you know, Ventura County is one of the safest counties in the country, according to the FBI.
And my dad knowing These things. This was a safe place where he could trust his daughter and his son to go when we were. 18 and who's clean, safe, fun, where you're never gonna get in a bad situation. And I mean, he had prepared us for something like this. We all had bulletproof plates that he had bought us from a place called Defender Body Armor in Camarillo.
Yeah.
So going into that night, it's like any other night, we Me and my buddy John was uh moving to Texas to become a firefighter.
So he had come over to the house and we were going to go out and see him off. And my sister, who was in Montana a few days prior on her way home from the airport, was in a uh car accident.
So she wasn't able to attend. But It was an off night because the previous week was Halloween, so people were kind of burnt out from it and they didn't want to go.
So we weren't able to get any wo any of uh of the people that usually come. I am thankful to God every day that Ashley wasn't able to come because I don't know what the outcome would have been having my sister there. if I would have made it or if she would have.
So I'm very thankful that that happened. And it kind of gives perspective on this whole thing, that every single thing in your life happens for a reason, and it's a good life outcome that I've taken from it.
So we got there and saw my friends, that it that I'd grown up with my whole life in uh Yeah. Out front, so we kind of joined groups and went in together, a group of about 15 people. And started the night, and it was a good night like any other. We got there about 10:15. and started hanging out with everyone and Taking pictures and dancing, line dancing, and socializing, and creating friendships, and uh Then About 11.
20, my ex-girlfriend. who I hadn't talked to in a couple of months, asked me if I wanted to to swing dance so I went out and did a couple swing dances and went to the went to the side and just kind of looked across the the dance floor and It was a a feeling like this was the best life could get for a for a young kid. And Then I texted my friends and they said that they were near the bar, so I took a few steps. toward the bar and then I've heard the first shots. And I immediately knew what it was.
I knew it was a gun, but it was like you're in a gun range without uh any ear protection on. with uh it reverberating through the room. And I thought it may have been a dispute between two people. And I turned to my left and there was a guy all in black and he had just uh shot someone in the front. and then started shooting toward The bar.
uh where my friends were. And I didn't really feel any emotions. I just was in shock that this was happening and it wasn't You could tell it wasn't a planned thing where he was coming in to kill someone, he was coming in to kill as many people as he could. Then he turned the the gun toward The area I was in, and started shooting, and I immediately dropped to the floor. and went toward the wall um near the dance floor.
It is out of vision of the front upper level. and place my back against that. And then I remember not feeling safe there because if he went down you could see me.
So I jumped over the wall onto a few tables and went under the tables onto pushed some chairs out of the way, some bar stools. And then there was a A pause. It felt like I was in there for 20 minutes, and in actuality, I was probably in there for. two minutes or or so. And He when there was this pause, someone said, run.
And it's it was like immediately every single person in the bar who didn't know what to do. based on those words started moving.
So I got up and started moving toward the direction everyone was running in. And you've been listening to Tyler Spadey tell this story of what happened. In a country in Western Bor not far from his home, in Thousand Oaks, California. and at the Borderline Bar and Grill and we all saw the story in the news and we've seen stories in the news like this before. And when we come back, we're gonna hear more from Tyler Spadey.
and what happened on that night and beyond. This is our American Stories. Lee Habib here, and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or wherever you get our podcasts. Any story you missed or want to hear again can be found there daily. Again, Please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts.
It helps us keep these great American stories coming. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer. Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter.
Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com. Saturday, August 22nd in Tampa. Witnessing MMA Legends final fight. Chris Cyborg, one of the greatest in history.
She's an absolute pioneer. In the sport. Defends her PFL world title. One last time. An unforgettable and an unforgettable career.
Saturday, August 22nd, live from Benchmark International Arena. For tickets, visit pfl.info slash tampa. Upgrade to Elite Checking from America's Christian Credit Union and earn up to 4% APY, plus everyday perks and access to your paycheck up to two days early with early pay. Don't settle. Choose checking that rewards you and aligns with your values.
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And CUA insured. This is Adam Devine, Blake Anderson, and Honors Home. From This Is Important. You know, those moments when you realize you've been adulting. Too hard.
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We're talking about the mass shooting that occurred in Thousand Oaks, California at the Borderline Bar and Grill. where 13 people were killed. in an instant, practically. And Tyler was there. There was a pause in gunfire, so someone in the borderline bar and grill yelled Run As Tyler recalled, with those words everyone started moving.
And that included Tyler himself. Here again. It's Tyler Spader. Everyone was running toward the kitchen. I didn't know.
whether he was behind me or not, so I looked over my shoulder. And when I turned around Someone had put down the waiter door. And I hit my face into that and fell under it. and started crawling and everyone was shoving and pushing, trying to get through this this small door, uh trampling over each other. And uh people are basically swimming over over each other and it was a really claustrophobic moment of terror.
And you could hear the bullets whizzing over and hitting the walls. as we were moving out. And I got up and Started running, running through the kitchen in a haze. I got to the back of the bar where there's a loading dock and jumped off that and fell over onto the ground and then. Recovered from that, and there's a group of about 40 of the people that were.
with me. running to the hill nearby. And I started running up that, but I didn't feel safe in that moment.
So I told. Everyone on the hill to run to the neighborhood nearby, and a girl came with me and I helped her over the fence. We went to every door in the neighborhood nearby and started knocking on the doors trying to get into houses. Yeah.
Eventually we're able to get inside and When you when I finally did get inside, it was no longer the fight or flight where I was just trying to live. I was able to feel safe, so I just laid against the wall. and started uh crying and received calls and called my my family to tell them that I was okay. And It was it's interesting looking back. I can feel how I felt.
that night. I don't dwell on it that often or think about it because I don't think it's beneficial for me to do so. and I've kind of moved past it, but I can definitely feel Those emotions. And the family, I'll be forever grateful for them letting me into that home because. They were really kind to me and embraced me and really helped me.
Shortly after this, my friend John called me and said he was alright. And they had jumped out the window and he had a similar situation of swimming over people and So I Got in the car with his mom came and picked me up. And I'd known this guy since middle school, and I was just glad that he was okay. And we. drove home and it was a quiet but really sad ride home where You're just trying to take in what you just witnessed.
When I did finally get home, I can remember the The best feeling that I've ever had in my life was hugging my mom and my sisters and falling to my knees upstairs. And Just letting every single emotion I had out. And for about ten minutes laying on the ground. After this, we turned on the news and it further became real. We were All in shock.
Everyone in the room, my neighbors of 15 years, came over to the house and. embraced me and They were also regulars at this place. When I got home, my mom said that I had Blood splattered on my on my face. But I didn't have any cuts, so I Wet and cried while I washed myself off and went back to the room to see everyone and I can't express the feelings that I had. It was just other than.
disbelief and Terror. You can't Get a thought together. There is nothing but. the absence of feeling. One of my friends before Actually, that night, who we had seen there, was not allowed in because of some reasons and So him and his girlfriend had gone home, and That's just another thing, uh another moment of God I think.
uh interjecting into into this and Everything happens for a reason, so those people were. Spirit. uh the trauma as well. and potentially more than that. In the days following, You slowly get information about friends and people you know who have been.
were killed in this event. And Me and my sister, my sister was best friends with one of the people. uh one of their sisters that had uh had passed and when we got that news um Uh we just both weeped in her room. That was uh Terrible moment for for me and her. But this family that formed out of that and was there before.
uh will always have a special place in my heart and are considered family to me. I'll never. lose the connections that I've made that night. from all these these individuals. A few days later, after the event, um when we were doing different events with everyone and coming together to feel this as a group.
Donald Trump flew into the town. And Visited with a few of the families who had lost certain individuals and showed nothing but. love and admiration for everyone involved. That was a really incredible experience to meet a president and for him to do that for us. One of the things that I take away from this, I mean, there's a verse: there's no greater love.
To give your life for a friend, and many individuals that night had done that act. and forever I'll be grateful to those people. Uh after this all happened. It was just months of Recovering from the trauma, and I tried to put myself. in it as much as possible.
to sit on it now and l let it go in my past later.
So I tried to Get be around people around me that were also involved in it and. Because I'd be I was actually going to Montana, so I set this date. It was uh January. 8th that I was going to Montana, and this happened on on November 7th. the day I was going to leave to Go to Montana.
I went to the to the bar. to see uh see it one last time and Um Say goodbye. and leave it. In the past, So I got on the plane and went to Montana, and I lived in Montana where I was born. and got to move past that moment and change my scenery.
Then I Came back for the one-year anniversary and felt it again with the individuals that were with me. With all the people there, I was able to heal more. But also See the See the good. in every moment. the f the family that is borderline that had come together.
was was there to comfort everyone who was still hurting. And to move past it as a Maybe more than borderline, if a Thousand Oaks family, a Ventura County family, all these people that are connected in this close-knit community. And what a voice you've been listening to Tyler Spadey tell the story of. not merely a mass Shooting episode that took the lives of 13 young people, but changed. the town he lived in.
But not just for the worse, in many ways. as he put it for the better. Evil can come knocking and it will. But how a town copes with that, how it comes together and rises above it, It takes the measure of the town. It can do it the same thing it can do to a marriage.
Someone loses a kid and that marriage isn't strong.
Well, it has two ways to go. It gets stronger or it breaks apart. and how we deal with tragedy and trauma. We talk a lot about these things here on the show. the story of Tyler Spadey, indeed, the story of a town.
Thousand Oaks. A beautiful story in the end, a sad one too. Tyler Spadey's here. on our American stories. Spending time outdoors, then let's talk about skin cancer.
Non-melanoma skin cancers, or NMSCs, including basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, are the most common cancers in the U.S. and can become harder to treat if left undetected. That's why sun protection and timely detection matter. Our sponsor, Regeneron, is raising awareness about advanced NMSCs. Learn more and take the pledge to see a dermatologist annually at let's get real about skincancer.com.
Saturday, August 22nd in Tampa. Witnessing MMA Legends final fight. Chris Cyborg, one of the greatest in history. She's an absolute pioneer in the sport. Defends her PFL world title.
One last time. An unforgettable and an unforgettable career. Saturday, August 22nd, live from Benchmark International Arena. For tickets, visit pfl.info slash tampa. Upgrade to Elite Checking from America's Christian Credit Union and earn up to 4% APY, plus everyday perks and access to your paycheck up to two days early with early pay.
Don't settle. Choose checking that rewards you and aligns with your values. Visit America's ChristianCU.com forward slash iHeart. Minimum balance of 1 cent required to earn advertised APY. Early pay not guaranteed.
APY equals annual percentage yield. Membership eligibility required. And CUA insured. You know what's surprisingly satisfying? Handling the whole back-to-school list all in one place: JCPenney.
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