Nightclub guard shot in the chest, saved by ballistic vest

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Police say a DeKalb County nightclub security guard's ballistic vest may have saved his life.

Early Friday morning, a gunman opened fire on the 360 Sports Bar on Redan Road in unincorporated Stone Mountain. The shooting left the club's front window riddled with bullet holes. Police say one of the rounds hit the guard in the chest. Fortunately, he was wearing a protective vest. 

Officers on the scene say the vest likely kept him from suffering critical injuries or possibly worse.  Paramedics rushed the guard to Grady Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening wounds. One of his co-workers told FOX 5 News the guard was being checked out by doctors but is expected to be released.

Police say it all started when a fight broke out inside the club. The suspected gunman then went outside, apparently retrieved a weapon from his car and started shooting. The guard was the only one hit by the hail of bullets.

No description of the gunman was immediately available.