LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — After intervening during a downtown shooting in October, a Lexington man received recognition from city leaders Thursday night.
During a city council meeting, Mayor Linda Gorton proclaimed February 1 as "Evan Jayson Smith Day".
Smith was working as a bouncer at a downtown bar during the early morning hours of October 1 when police say a fight outside of Silks Lounge escalated into gunfire.
Smith leapt into action to disarm the shooter, suffering a gunshot wound of his own. The bullet hit his right bicep, fractured his shoulder blade, broke a vertebra in his neck, and bruised his spinal cord.
In total, four people suffered injuries in the incident.
Thursday, Mayor Linda Gorton applauded him for likely preventing that number from being larger.
"Jayson, we know that your actions were brave and heroic," Gorton said during the LFUCG council meeting. She presented him with a plaque in his honor.
Smith attended the meeting with his father, Kurt Smith.
"I'm pretty speechless. I was getting pretty starry-eyed when the Mayor was reading all that off," Kurt Smith said after the meeting.
Jayson is now back on his feet and continues to make progress in recovery.
"The world's opening up for him," Kurt said. "Couldn't be prouder and couldn't be happier."
Jayson plans to continue as a student at Western Governors University, studying cybersecurity.
Jayson and Kurt also plan to work with ONE Lexington, the local initiative dedicated to violent crime prevention.
