Great Alaskan Bush Company Strip Club Shooting: Suspect Planned Rampage | Valley Fever | Phoenix | Phoenix New Times | The Leading Independent News Source in Phoenix, Arizona
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Great Alaskan Bush Company Strip Club Shooting: Suspect Planned Rampage

The shooting at the Great Alaskan Bush Company strip club on Sunday -- one of two strip club shootings over the Christmas weekend -- wasn't the spontaneous work of an angry patron dissatisfied with his lap-dance. The suspect, 28-year-old Gavin Macfarlane, told police it was "part of a plan he...
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The shooting at the Great Alaskan Bush Company strip club on Sunday -- one of two strip club shootings over the Christmas weekend -- wasn't the spontaneous work of an angry patron dissatisfied with his lap-dance. The suspect, 28-year-old Gavin Macfarlane, told police it was "part of a plan he had formulated in his mind."

From the sound of things, dude's a little out there.

According to court documents obtained by New Times, Macfarlane sat at the club as a patron prior to going berserk and shooting the place up.


Witnesses told police there was no incident that would have prompted Macfarlane to become enraged. Rather, it seems, he just went off the deep end.

After being taken into custody, Macfarlane told police he had planned the shooting. He says he was at the club for a while before he "reached a point where he made the decision to go out to the parking lot and obtain a weapon from his vehicle."

He told police his plan was to shoot the first people with whom he came in contact -- which he did.

When Macfarlane went back into the club he immediately shot the bouncer, Adam Troy Cooley, 34, and a patron, 20-year-old Antonio Garcia, who were standing near the door. Both Cooley and Garcia died as a result of the injuries caused by Macfarlane.

Two other patrons were also shot, although, they survived the attack.

Macfarlane entered the club and shot at another unidentified woman, but missed. He then tried to shoot another male patron but was out of bullets -- so he hit the man in the head with the gun before being subdued by staff members.

Macfarlane told cops that if he hadn't run out of ammo he would have continued to shoot people.

He's been booked on two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. He's being held on a $2 million bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for January 3.

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