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December 21, 2008. Source: http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/36514379.html
Andy Kochanski thought the silhouettes he spotted through the foggy windows were two customers coming into his tavern about 1 a.m. Friday.
Kochanski was hosting a Christmas party, and all the Milwaukee concertina greats had been jamming in the landmark polka hall - formerly Art's Concertina Bar - on the city's south side.
Then Kochanski saw the black ski masks and the sawed-off shotgun.
He didn't hesitate. He reached under the bar for his loaded Glock .45.
As he ducked, he heard a blast and lead whizzing over his head, shattering whiskey bottles and the mirror behind the bar
He stood up and squeezed the trigger.
"All that went through my mind was, 'Oh my God, I'm going to have to kill these guys,'" Kochanski said Saturday.
Bullets flew for about 10 seconds as the masked men backed out the door, he said.
Longtime local harmonica player Donald "Doc" Pfaff dropped to the floor.
"I said, 'I'm hit.' I must have said it three or four times before it registered with anybody,' Pfaff, 67, said from his hospital bed Saturday night. "It was like the OK Corral."
Pfaff was hit in the buttocks and the bullet exited through the front of his hip, shattering some bone. He expects to leave the hospital today.
Police won't say who fired the shot that hit Pfaff. And Pfaff said he doesn't care.
Kochanski said he doesn't know. He thinks he hit the man firing the shotgun - from the way the man fell back - but he can't say for sure.
Police said they had no suspects in custody Saturday night.
Barbara Meyer-Spidell had just gone to the restroom when the shooting began. She credits Kochanski with saving all the customers' lives.
"He's really a hero," she said. "He displayed courage and valor...It was great that he was so astute."
She said she hopes the shooting doesn't scare patrons away from the historic beer hall at 1920 S. 37th St., now known as Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall. She said customers should instead feel safe.
"I'd rather go to Kochanski's and be protected by Andy than somewhere else and have some drunk bartender who's not paying attention," Meyer-Spidell said.
Kochanski, too, is worried about the impact the shootout might have on his struggling business. But he said customers should not be afraid.
"This is a safe place. It's polka. People come here with their kids...It's magical. It's special. It's not a typical bar.
"With all the retired cops and firefighters that come in here, they (the robbers) are lucky I was the only one shooting at them," he said.
December 21, 2008. Source: http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/36514379.html
Andy Kochanski thought the silhouettes he spotted through the foggy windows were two customers coming into his tavern about 1 a.m. Friday.
Kochanski was hosting a Christmas party, and all the Milwaukee concertina greats had been jamming in the landmark polka hall - formerly Art's Concertina Bar - on the city's south side.
Then Kochanski saw the black ski masks and the sawed-off shotgun.
He didn't hesitate. He reached under the bar for his loaded Glock .45.
As he ducked, he heard a blast and lead whizzing over his head, shattering whiskey bottles and the mirror behind the bar
He stood up and squeezed the trigger.
"All that went through my mind was, 'Oh my God, I'm going to have to kill these guys,'" Kochanski said Saturday.
Bullets flew for about 10 seconds as the masked men backed out the door, he said.
Longtime local harmonica player Donald "Doc" Pfaff dropped to the floor.
"I said, 'I'm hit.' I must have said it three or four times before it registered with anybody,' Pfaff, 67, said from his hospital bed Saturday night. "It was like the OK Corral."
Pfaff was hit in the buttocks and the bullet exited through the front of his hip, shattering some bone. He expects to leave the hospital today.
Police won't say who fired the shot that hit Pfaff. And Pfaff said he doesn't care.
Kochanski said he doesn't know. He thinks he hit the man firing the shotgun - from the way the man fell back - but he can't say for sure.
Police said they had no suspects in custody Saturday night.
Barbara Meyer-Spidell had just gone to the restroom when the shooting began. She credits Kochanski with saving all the customers' lives.
"He's really a hero," she said. "He displayed courage and valor...It was great that he was so astute."
She said she hopes the shooting doesn't scare patrons away from the historic beer hall at 1920 S. 37th St., now known as Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall. She said customers should instead feel safe.
"I'd rather go to Kochanski's and be protected by Andy than somewhere else and have some drunk bartender who's not paying attention," Meyer-Spidell said.
Kochanski, too, is worried about the impact the shootout might have on his struggling business. But he said customers should not be afraid.
"This is a safe place. It's polka. People come here with their kids...It's magical. It's special. It's not a typical bar.
"With all the retired cops and firefighters that come in here, they (the robbers) are lucky I was the only one shooting at them," he said.
