Heroic actions of off-duty employee prevent mass shooting at Georgia bar

Man sentenced for 2019 Newnan bar shooting

We are hearing from the man police say stopped what could have been a mass shooting at a crowded Coweta County bar back in 2019. The heroic act did have a cost ben McCoy was shot seven times.

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. - A man who opened fire outside a Coweta County bar in 2019, shooting an off-duty employee seven times, was sentenced last week to 45 years in prison.

SEE ALSO: Man sentenced to 45 years for 2019 Newnan bar shooting

Fat Boys Bar and Grill shooting

The backstory:

Kevintez Mathewis was captured on surveillance video at Fat Boys Bar and Grill in August 2019, where he was thrown out by security for being disruptive. Deputies say Mathewis was ejected multiple times that night and at one point was seen gesturing as if firing a gun into the bar. Witnesses later told investigators he threatened to return and "shoot up the place."

He did.

After firing a shot from behind the building, Mathewis returned armed with a gun. But before he could go further, he was confronted by Ben McCoy, an off-duty bar employee who retrieved a rifle from his SUV. McCoy drew Mathewis’ attention with a shout, potentially preventing a mass shooting — but was shot seven times in the process.

RAW: Fatboys Bar & Grill shooting

This surveillance video released by the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office shows a shooting at Fatboys Bar & Grill during the early morning hours of Aug. 17, 2019.

Six years later, McCoy sat in the courtroom as Mathewis was sentenced under a plea deal to 45 years behind bars.

Ben McCoy: In his own words

What they're saying:

"I wanted him to know what all that he took from me — that I won’t be able to get back," McCoy said. "Like my ability to play the guitar… the slightest thing, if it’s sudden, it startles the crap out of me."

Coweta County District Attorney Herb Cranford credited McCoy’s actions with saving lives.

"The brave actions of McCoy likely stopped what could have been a catastrophic incident from occurring inside the packed bar," Cranford said.

SEE ALSO: Deputies credit armed employee with stopping potential mass shooting at bar

Fat Boys Bar and Grill has since gone out of business. McCoy, who now works as a film extra, says he is still grappling with the trauma of that night.

"Healing that needs to take place now is more mental than physical," he said. "Because there’s still a lot of trauma that needs to be dealt with."

He said many of those inside the bar that night were people he considered close friends — some even like family.

"I would like to think that people would do whatever they had to do to try to protect their family," McCoy said.

The sentencing closed a six-year chapter for McCoy, bringing what he described as a measure of closure — but not yet full peace.