Ten years ago, on Nov. 20, 2005, the assistant manager of a Tacoma Mall knife shop was making a routine trip to the bank for a deposit when he heard the unmistakable sounds of gunfire. Armed, he attempted to locate and stop the shooter. Unfortunately, the shooter found him first.  

Dan McKown was outdrawn by Dominick Maldonado, whom McKown describes in his unpublished manuscript about the event as "a twenty-year-old ashen-skinned male with black hair, a short brown jacket, light pants, and a chip on his shoulder."

The story continues. "He swung his weapon around as I drew my pistol from my waistband.  He was a fraction of a second faster, hitting me just as I aimed straight for his head ... His first shot hit me square in the lower abdomen ... shattering on my spine and obliterating my lower nerve function."

Now confined to a wheelchair, McKown will commemorate the event by putting on a show with a few of his buddies.  A heavy metal or punk show, or an anti-violence protest, would be one approach.

"There could be a couple of ways to mark the occasion," McKown said recently in a phone interview. "I didn't want to do somber."

So he went to his default approach: laughter.

Before the accident, McKown was working with Comedy Kaleidoscope, a comedy troupe he formed with friends.

"I was doing standup long before they should've let me into comedy clubs ... I had a mustache, and I would fake my age to get into clubs," he said.

In a non-funny irony, he can't really do club shows anymore.

"Comedy clubs don't have ramps to the stage," he said.  

On Nov. 20, McKown, along with his friends Ty Barnett, Shawn Lawrence, Kris Brannon and Rick Anderson, will put on a show at Tacoma's Rialto Theater entitled "Still Standing."

It will be their way of, in his words, "taking the stage defiantly to say we're still standing."

There will be two shows: a family-friendly show at 7 p.m. followed by a moderated Q&A session, and a "blue" show (with more traditional adult humor as would be found in a nightclub) at 9.

In addition to Barnett, Lawrence, Brannon and Anderson,a "top secret, super-surprise guest" will hit the stage as well. While unable to name this comedian due to contract terms, "he was one of the first friends I made in comedy and one of the first friends who made it in comedy," McKown hints.

Missing from the show will be Moses Martinez, whom McKown credits with saving his life and taking control of evacuating others in the mall (for which Martinez received the Soldier's Medal for Heroism).  McKown tried bringing Martinez up from California, but crowdsourcing efforts failed; as a nod to other heroes, McKown's show will have discounts available for military members and first responders.  

A portion of the proceeds will go to the Washington State Crime Victims Fund, which McKown describes as a "neat organization," adding "I've been trying to find a way to help them for a while."

"Still Standing," shows at 7 and 9 p.m., Friday, Nov. 20, Rialto Theater, 901 Broadway, Tacoma. Tickets $15-30; military and first responder discount available.  www.broadwaycenter.org/events/calendar/eventdetail/236/still-standing