Mariano Ong shows the certificate and medallion he was honoured with for his bravery. Ong is also a local Ionic Lodge #31 member. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

Local hero

Battlefords resident honoured with bravery award

Mar 25, 2021 | 12:20 PM

Last week, Mariano Ong was honoured with the Royal Canadian Humane Association Silver Medal Award for bravery for his humanitarian efforts in helping subdue a man firing a rifle in a pub on March 3, 2020 in Saskatoon.

Ong does not so much think what he did that night as a risk he decided to take, but rather a risk he couldn’t afford not to take.

The North Battleford resident told battlefordsNOW he can still recall that challenging day when he was visiting the Hudsons Canada’s Pub to have a late meal with some colleagues after a conference, and suddenly around 11:30 p.m. he heard gunshots ring out.

A man walked in with a rifle and fired two shots, one at the ceiling.

Ong quickly turned to his colleagues and said: “It’s a real gun. You better hide.”

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Then, he leapt into action.

“I knew if I am not brave [enough] to do that, maybe somebody will be killed or maybe I will get killed,” he said.

“I ran and jumped [the gunman] and struck him to get the firearm,” he said.

Three other men in the vicinity also joined to help subdue the gunman.

“When I run, I make sure that I grabbed the rifle,” Ong recalled. “But he is holding it; I struggle. Then, the three gentlemen came to help …. Somebody is pushing and trying to get the gun that they fell down. I’m on the left side, where they fell down. I am holding still the rifle in the hands of the gunman, while doing that I am shouting out: “Call 911.” I am punching and kicking to get him to release the gun.”

They wrestled the 25-year-old gunman to the ground and managed to remove the gun from his hand and restrain him until the police arrived to arrest him.

Ong said it was quite a struggle and he ended up incurring a torn ligament to his shoulder from the ordeal.

But he is glad no one was hurt.

Ong, who has been living in the Battlefords for the past 11 years, currently works as a continuing care aide at the Saskatchewan Hospital North Battleford.

He is originally from the Philippines, where he was a graduate of criminology and trained as a police officer. So Ong said he was able to use his skills to respond to the situation.

Ong gave a statement to police following the incident, but left before the press attended to interview those who overcame the gunman. While the other three individuals—Josh Neudorf, Jesse Heit and Joey Duong—received their award in August of 2020, Ong unfortunately was missed. So he is glad to finally see he is being recognized with the bravery award now.

Ong was invited to share his story at North Battleford city council this week.

“He was actually the first person to subdue this person. He wasn’t the last, he was the first,” Mayor David Gillan said. “It’s just he couldn’t stay before the media got there, and he never really got credited for all his bravery.”

The mayor is thrilled to see Ong at last receive the bravery award for his efforts.

Gillan added it’s great to recognize “a local hero who saved people’s lives with his actions.”

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angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow