Calgarian describes ‘chaos’ at Mexican resort

A Calgary man said he’s relieved to be home safe after making a harrowing escape from the scene of a shooting at a club in Mexico.

Aleks Samardzija was at the Blue Parrot nightclub early Monday for one of the final performances of an electronic music festival in the popular resort town of Playa del Carmen when shots erupted inside the club.

Samardzija was sitting on a raised platform with friends around 2:30 a.m. when they heard what sounded at first like fireworks.

“We were expecting a great last night, we were planning on dancing all night, and then I heard, boom, boom, boom, boom,” Samardzija said. “People were just running in every direction. People didn’t know what to do. It was just chaos.”

Samardzija dropped to the ground and took cover. It occurred to him that he was just six or seven feet from the door where the shots were coming from.

“I raised my head a little bit and saw people running in every direction and saw several people got hit.”

He stayed on the ground for what he estimates was 15 or 20 minutes.

“When we thought it was clear, a few of us booked it out ... we had to jump over a dead body to get out. When we were running out we heard more gunshots, so we ran even quicker.”

Samardzija made it to a friend’s place nearby, where he began texting friends to see if they had made it out safely.

Authorities are now confirming that five people died in the shooting, including one Canadian. At least one person died in the crush to escape and some of the 15 people wounded or injured were hurt in the stampede.

Kirk Wilson, a Toronto bouncer, was identified by Global Affairs as one of those killed. Two other Canadians were wounded.

Quintana Roo State Attorney General Miguel Angel Pech ruled out terrorism, but said the shooting erupted when festival security personnel tried to stop a man from entering the club with a gun.

Samardzija returned to Calgary on Monday night and said he was relieved to have made it out alive.

“I’m glad I woke up in my own bed. I’m happy about that.”

REBECCA BLACKWELL/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS An investigator surveys the Blue Parrot nightclub Tuesday after the deadly shooting in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Calgarian Aleks Samardzija says the attack “was just chaos.”