WATCH: Armed Man in Devil Mask Tries Entering Tampa Strip Club

TAMPA -- A man is jailed without bond after trying to walk into a strip club with a gun in hand early Sunday morning.

Tampa police say 44-year-old Michael Rudman of Largo pulled up at the Mons Venus on North Dale Mabry Highway, wearing a red and black devil mask and the words kill and darkk on his arms. He had the gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other.

A security guard, Manny Resto, spotted the gun and knocked it out of his hand. A bullet fired and hit the front door of the club. No one was injured.

Resto says Rudman left the pickup running when he got out to enter the club. Resto, a former wrestler known as the "Puerto Rican Punisher", said at first he thought one of his friends was playing a trick on him. "Then he came up to me and he was a very big man... then he walked beside me... I saw him raise his hand and he had a gun. I decided he was not going to enter the club and hurt anybody." Resto says Rudman hit him with a flashlight but he was not going to let Rudman win. He pointed the gun at Rudman and told him to get on the ground, but Rudman rushed at him. Resto got the gun again and kept him on the ground until other guards arrived. Resto credits his MMA and wrestling training with helping him control the situation.

Tampa police then arrived and found ammunition, knives and another firearm in Rudman's truck.

Charges for Rudman include aggravated assault, aggravated battery and acquiring a firearm under a risk protection order. That order had been served by the Pinellas County Sheriff.

Detectives don't know the motive but say Rudman had visited the Mons Venus the night before. He's jailed without bond. Previous charges include domestic violence, battery, reckless driving and DUI, all in Pinellas County.

Tampa police interim chief Lee Bercaw says he has no doubt that the guard's actions saved many lives and prevented a mass shooting. There were about 200 people inside the Mons Venus at the time. Bercaw says they haven't discovered any ideology that might have motivated Rudman.

Watch surveillance video of the incident below.

Photo and Video: Tampa Police


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