Speaker 1: This is our American stories, and every once in a
Speaker 1: while we just tell great stories about ordinary Americans doing
Speaker 1: extraordinary things. A mass shooting took place in November seventh,
Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, in Thousand Oaks, California, at the Borderline Bar
Speaker 1: in Grille, the country western bar frequented by college students.
Speaker 1: Thirteen people were killed. Tyler Spady was one of the
Speaker 1: roughly two hundred and fifty patrons there on that faithful night.
Speaker 1: Here he is to share his story of survival.
Speaker 2: And hope the week before the shooting. It just gives
Speaker 2: kind of a story to what Borderline was. It was
Speaker 2: a Halloween night where everyone goes and dresses up and
Speaker 2: you have costume contents. And that night I went as
Speaker 2: the little Boy and up in the full boy Scout
Speaker 2: uniform that I borrowed from my neighbor, and my buddy
Speaker 2: Jesse went is Donald Trump. And the whole place was
Speaker 2: full of people in costumes, and my dad was in attendance,
Speaker 2: and my sister was in attendance, and everyone was hanging out, playing,
Speaker 2: playing pool, creating friendships, line dancing, and having a good
Speaker 2: time like you usually do at this place.
Speaker 3: And it wasn't just a.
Speaker 2: Bar many people when you think about in the news,
Speaker 2: just think about it like that. But it was an
Speaker 2: eighteen plus place where people would go to socialize in
Speaker 2: the college years. It was a really amazing place where
Speaker 2: I had been going since I was eighteen years old,
Speaker 2: so five years prior to this happening, and knew just
Speaker 2: about every person who regularly went there, and especially my
Speaker 2: friend group of about twenty people that would go regularly
Speaker 2: and playpool and do the things that college students do.
Speaker 2: But saying that this even happened in this place, you know,
Speaker 2: Venture County is one of the safest counties in the
Speaker 2: country according to the FBI, and my dad knowing these things,
Speaker 2: this was a safe place where he could trust his
Speaker 2: daughter and his son to go when we were eighteen,
Speaker 2: and it was clean, safe, fun where you're never gonna
Speaker 2: get in a bad situation. And I mean he had
Speaker 2: prepared us for something like this. We all had bulletproof
Speaker 2: plates that he had bought us from a place called
Speaker 2: Defender Body Armor in Camarillo. So going into that night,
Speaker 2: it's like any other night. We me and my buddy
Speaker 2: John was moving to Texas to become a firefighter, so
Speaker 2: he had come over to the house. We were going
Speaker 2: to go out and see him off, and my sister,
Speaker 2: who was in Montana a few days prior, on her
Speaker 2: way home from the airport, was in a car accident,
Speaker 2: so she wasn't able to attend. But it was an
Speaker 2: off night because the previous week was Halloween, so people
Speaker 2: were kind of burnt out from it and they didn't
Speaker 2: want to go, so we weren't able to get any
Speaker 2: any of the people that usually come. I am thankful
Speaker 2: to God every day that actually wasn't able to come,
Speaker 2: because I don't know what the outcome would have been
Speaker 2: having my sister there, if I would have made her
Speaker 2: or if she would have So I'm very thankful that
Speaker 2: that happened, and it kind of gives perspective on this
Speaker 2: whole thing that every single thing in your life happens
Speaker 2: for a reason, and it's a good life outcome that
Speaker 2: I've taken from it. So we got there and saw
Speaker 2: my friends that I'd grown up with my whole life
Speaker 2: in an out front. So we kind of joined groups
Speaker 2: and went into together a group of about fifteen people
Speaker 2: and started the night, and it was a good night
Speaker 2: like any other. We got there about ten to fifteen
Speaker 2: and started hanging out with everyone and taking pictures and
Speaker 2: dancing line dancing and socializing and creating friendships. And then
Speaker 2: about eleven twenty, my ex girlfriend, who I hadn't talked
Speaker 2: to in a couple of months, asked me if I
Speaker 2: wanted to swing dance. So I went out and did
Speaker 2: a couple of swing dances and went to the side
Speaker 2: and just kind of looked across the dance floor and
Speaker 2: it was a feeling like this was the best life
Speaker 2: could get for a young kid. And then I texted
Speaker 2: my friends and they said that they were near the bar,
Speaker 2: so I took a few steps toward the bar and
Speaker 2: then I heard the first shots.
Speaker 3: Immediately knew what it was.
Speaker 2: I knew it was a gun, but it was like
Speaker 2: you're in a gun range without any ear protection on,
Speaker 2: with it reverberating through the room, and I thought it
Speaker 2: may have been a dispute between two people. And I
Speaker 2: turned to my left and there was a guy all
Speaker 2: in black and he had just shot someone in the
Speaker 2: front and then started shooting toward the bar where my
Speaker 2: friends were. And I didn't really feel any emotions. I
Speaker 2: just was in shock that this was happening and it
Speaker 2: wasn't you could tell it wasn't a planned thing where
Speaker 2: he was coming in to kill someone. He was coming
Speaker 2: in to kill as many people as he could. Then
Speaker 2: he turned the gun toward the area I was in
Speaker 2: and started shooting, and I immediately dropped to the floor
Speaker 2: and went toward the wall near the dance it is
Speaker 2: out of vision of the front upper level, and placed
Speaker 2: my back against that. And then I remember not feeling
Speaker 2: safe there because if he went down, you could see me.
Speaker 2: So I jumped over the wall onto a few tables
Speaker 2: and went under the tables onto push some chairs out
Speaker 2: of the way, some bar stools, and then there was a.
Speaker 3: Pause. It felt like it felt like I.
Speaker 2: Was in there for twenty minutes, and in actuality, I
Speaker 2: was probably in there for two minutes or so. And
Speaker 2: he when knows this pause, someone said run, and it
Speaker 2: was like immediately every single person in the bar, who
Speaker 2: didn't know what to do based on those words, started moving.
Speaker 2: So I got up and started moving toward the direction
Speaker 2: everyone was running in.
Speaker 1: And you've been listening to Tyler Spady tell the story
Speaker 1: of what happened in a country western bar not far
Speaker 1: from his home in Thousand Oaks, California, and at the
Speaker 1: Borderline Bar and Grill, and we all saw the story
Speaker 1: in the news, and we've seen stories in the news
Speaker 1: like this before. And when we come back, we're gonna
Speaker 1: hear more from Tyler Spady and what happened on that
Speaker 1: night and beyond. This is our American Stories. Lee Hubib here,
Speaker 1: and I'd like to encourage you to subscribe to Our
Speaker 1: American Stories on Apple Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, or
Speaker 1: wherever you get our podcasts. Any story you missed or
Speaker 1: want to hear again can be found there daily again.
Speaker 1: Please subscribe to the Our American Stories podcast on Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app, or anywhere you get your podcasts. It
Speaker 1: helps us keep these great American stories coming. And we
Speaker 1: returned to our American Stories. In Tyler Spadey's story, we're
Speaker 1: talking about the mass shooting that occurred in Thousand Oaks, California,
Speaker 1: at the Borderline Bar and Grill, where thirteen people were
Speaker 1: killed in an instant practically, and Tyler was there. There
Speaker 1: was a pause and gunfire, so someone in the Borderline
Speaker 1: Bar and Grill yelled run as Tyler recalled quote with
Speaker 1: those words, everyone started moving and that included Tyler himself.
Speaker 1: Here again, it's Tyler Spady.
Speaker 2: Everyone was running toward the kitchen. I didn't know whether
Speaker 2: it was behind me or not, so I looked over
Speaker 2: my shoulder and when I turned around, someone had put
Speaker 2: down the waiter door and I hit my face into
Speaker 2: that and fell under it and started crawling. And everyone
Speaker 2: was shoving and pushing trying to get through the small door,
Speaker 2: trampling over each other, and people are basically swimming over
Speaker 2: each other, and it was a really claustrophobic moment of terror.
Speaker 2: And you could hear the bullets whizzing over and hitting
Speaker 2: the walls as we were moving out. And I got
Speaker 2: up and started running, running through the kitchen in a haze.
Speaker 2: I got to the back of the bar where there's
Speaker 2: a loading dock and jumped off that and fell over
Speaker 2: onto the ground and then recovered from that. And there's
Speaker 2: a group of about forty of the people that were
Speaker 2: with me running to the hill nearby, and I started
Speaker 2: running up to that, but I didn't feel safe in
Speaker 2: that moment, so I told everyone on the hill to
Speaker 2: run to the neighborhood nearby, and a girl came with me,
Speaker 2: and I helped her over the fence and we went
Speaker 2: to every door in the neighborhood nearby and started knocking
Speaker 2: on the doors trying to get into houses. Eventually we're
Speaker 2: able to get inside, and when I finally did get inside,
Speaker 2: it was no longer the fight or flight where I
Speaker 2: was just trying to live.
Speaker 3: I was able to feel safe.
Speaker 2: So I just laid against the wall and started crying
Speaker 2: and received calls.
Speaker 3: And called my family to tell them that I was okay.
Speaker 2: And it's interesting, looking back, I can feel how I
Speaker 2: felt that night. I don't dwell on it that often
Speaker 2: or think about it is I don't think it's beneficial
Speaker 2: for me to do.
Speaker 3: So, and I've kind of moved past.
Speaker 2: It, but I can definitely feel those emotions and the family.
Speaker 2: I'll be forever grateful for them letting me into that home,
Speaker 2: because they were really kind to me and embraced me
Speaker 2: and really helped me. Shortly after this, my friend John
Speaker 2: called me and said he was all right, and they
Speaker 2: had jumped out the window and he had a similar
Speaker 2: situation of swimming over people. And so I got in
Speaker 2: the car with his mom came and picked me up.
Speaker 2: And I'd known this guy since middle school, and I
Speaker 2: was just glad that he was okay, and we drove
Speaker 2: home and it was a quiet but really sad ride
Speaker 2: home where you're just trying to take in what you
Speaker 2: just witnessed. When I did finally get home, I can
Speaker 2: remember the best feeling that I've ever had in my
Speaker 2: life was hugging my mom and my sisters and falling
Speaker 2: to my knees upstairs and just letting every single emotion
Speaker 2: I had out and for about ten minutes laying on
Speaker 2: the ground.
Speaker 3: After this, we turned on.
Speaker 2: The news and it further became real. We were all
Speaker 2: in shock room. My neighbors of fifteen years came over
Speaker 2: to the house and embraced me, and they were also
Speaker 2: regulars at this place. When I got home, my mom
Speaker 2: said that I had blood splattered on my face, but
Speaker 2: I didn't have any cuts, so I went and cried well.
Speaker 2: I washed myself off and went back to the room
Speaker 2: to see everyone, and I can't express the feelings that
Speaker 2: I had, and it was just other than disbelief and terror,
Speaker 2: but a terror in a sense that you can't get
Speaker 2: a thought together. There is nothing but the absence of feeling.
Speaker 2: One of my friends actually that night, who had we
Speaker 2: had seen there, was not allowed in because of some reasons,
Speaker 2: and so him and his girlfriend had gone home, and
Speaker 2: that's just another thing, another moment of God, I think
Speaker 2: interjecting into this, and everything happens for reasons. So those
Speaker 2: people were spared the trauma as well, and potentially more
Speaker 2: than that. In the days following, you slowly get information
Speaker 2: about friends and people you know who have been.
Speaker 3: Were killed in this event, and me and my sister.
Speaker 3: My sister was.
Speaker 2: Best friends with one of the people, one of their
Speaker 2: sisters that had passed, and when we got that news,
Speaker 2: we just both weeped in her room. That was a
Speaker 2: terrible moment for me and her. But this family that
Speaker 2: formed out of that and was there before will always
Speaker 2: have a special place in my heart and are considered
Speaker 2: family to me. I will never lose the connections that
Speaker 2: I've made that night from all these these individuals. A
Speaker 2: few days later after the event, when we were doing
Speaker 2: different events with everyone and coming together to feel this
Speaker 2: as a group, Donald Trump flew into the town and
Speaker 2: visited with a few of the families who had lost
Speaker 2: certain individuals and showed nothing but love and admiration for
Speaker 2: everyone involved.
Speaker 3: That was a really.
Speaker 2: Incredible experience to meet a president and for him to
Speaker 2: do that for us. One of the things that I
Speaker 2: take away from this, I mean, there's a verse. There's
Speaker 2: no greater love than to give your life for a friend.
Speaker 2: And many individuals that night had done that that act, and.
Speaker 3: Forever I'll be grateful to those people.
Speaker 2: After this all happened, it was just months of recovering
Speaker 2: from the trauma, and I tried to put myself in
Speaker 2: it as much as possible, to sit on it now
Speaker 2: and let it go in my past later. So I
Speaker 2: tried to be around people around me that were also
Speaker 2: involved in it. And because I was actually going to Montana,
Speaker 2: so I said this date. It was January eighth that
Speaker 2: I was going to Montana and Montana and this happened
Speaker 2: on November seventh, the day I was going to leave
Speaker 2: to go to Montana. I went to the to the
Speaker 2: bar to see it one last time and say goodbye
Speaker 2: and leave it in the past. So I got on
Speaker 2: the plane and went to Montana, and I lived in
Speaker 2: Montana where I was born, and got to move past
Speaker 2: that moment and change my scenery. Then I came back
Speaker 2: for the one year anniversary and felt it again with
Speaker 2: the individuals that were.
Speaker 3: With me, with all the people there. I was able
Speaker 3: to heal more but also see the good in every moment.
Speaker 2: The family that is borderline, that had come together, was
Speaker 2: there to comfort everyone who was still hurting and to
Speaker 2: move past it as a maybe more than borderline of
Speaker 2: a thousand Oaks family, of venture, a county family, all
Speaker 2: these people that are connected in this close knit community.
Speaker 1: And what a voice you've been listening to time Spady
Speaker 1: tell the story of not merely a mass shooting episode
Speaker 1: that took the lives of thirteen young people, but changed
Speaker 1: the town he lived in, but not just for the worse,
Speaker 1: in many ways, as he put it, for the better.
Speaker 1: Evil can come knocking, and it will, But how a
Speaker 1: town copes with that, how it comes together and rises
Speaker 1: above it. It takes the measure of the town. It
Speaker 1: can do it the same thing it can do to
Speaker 1: a marriage. Someone loses a kid and that marriage isn't strong. Well,
Speaker 1: it has two ways to go. It gets stronger or
Speaker 1: it breaks apart. And how we deal with tragedy and trauma.
Speaker 1: We talk a lot about these things here on the show.
Speaker 1: The story of Tyler Spady, indeed the story of a
Speaker 1: town a thousand Oaks, a beautiful story in the end
Speaker 1: a sad one too. Tyler Spady's here on our American
Speaker 1: Stories