Even though Dan Bilzerian may have taken some flak subsequently after the shooting massacre in Las Vegas, he may be getting some additional cover from the criticisms laid against him thanks to the latest release of a video footage he took from that fateful Sunday night.
Dan Bilzerian said that he is apparently a commissioned reserve police officer, and that's the reason why he returned to the hot zone, asking Las Vegas Metro officers to lend him a gun so that he could help.
When Stephen Paddock mercilessly opened fire on 22,000 attendees of the country music festival while safely perched at the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, several of those who ran for cover tried to use their phones to capture the incident on video. Apparently, Bilzerian was one of those who posted a video commentary of his escape with his phone, which he shared to his 22.7 million Instagram followers. People who viewed the video have heard what sounded like automatic gunfire raining down on the panicked crowd.
Days after he posted the video to his Instagram account, many of Bilzerian's followers started to point out to him that instead of helping, he just ran away, and even had the gall to film the whole thing. One of his harshest criticisms came from decorated US marine Dakota Meyer, son-in-law to ex-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Meyer chastised Bilzerian, who at that time was wearing a black cowboy hat and camouflage shorts, for fleeing the area while trying to portray himself as a military figure on social media.
The Medal of Honor recipient wrote to the self-proclaimed King of Instagram, "Always playing 'operator dress up' and so so tough when the cameras are on. A woman just got shot in the head and you are running away filming that's not what operators do. Please stop trying to be someone you're not. People are dying, you're running away not helping them and pretending it's worthy of a video is disgusting." Instagram users showed mixed responses, but many agreed with the decorated veteran.
Bilzerian replied the next day, calling Meyer a ‘retard' who inaccurately judged what really transpired based only on his own conclusions drawn from the short snippet he broadcasted live.
Bilzerian then released another video showing what he described "what really happened", which was almost 6 minutes of footage that was taken from one of his pal's phones and posted it on October 6. In the video, Bilzerian was seen aiding an injured woman before he tried to request a Las Vegas police officer to lend him a gun so that he could help. However, the officer shooed him away.
Bilzerian, on sharing the video, wrote, "I'm a sworn commissioned reserve police officer, I wouldn't normally tell you that, but I think it's important you know that for the context of this video. I am not a medic or a hero in anyway, my instinct when someone is shooting at me is to get a gun and shoot back."
Fistfight Dare
Before he posted the video, Bilzerian spoke to The Hill and said that he wanted to help out, even returning to the scene later that evening in order to save a police chief's daughter. Even if the evidence suggesting Bilzerian was not simply trying to run to safety, he has still angered Meyer for allegedly revealing to the public his wife's phone number.
In an Instagram video posted on October 8, Meyer warned Bilzerian to not drag his family into their argument before he challenged him to a fistfight.
The extended video that Bilzerian has posted has received 7.3 million views, whereas Meyer's short post had gotten over 10,000 likes Monday morning and it's getting viral.
Meanwhile, police have had no comment on the fight between the two, as they continue the investigation of the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
Source:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4958634/Dakota-Meyer-challenges-Dan-Bilzerian-FIGHT.html
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/354184-dan-bilzerian-recounts-frantic-search-for-gun-help-during-vegas-shooting
