Willie Lay was in the back of the Safe and Sound Senior Citizen Social Club, playing dice, when he heard shots. A lot of them.



"Pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow," said Lay, 69, who manages the club in Gary. "When you hear gunshots, you know what time it is. We all ran to the closet."



Except one of the dice players, who was still standing by the table when the gunman reached the back room. "The guy opened the door and shot him twice, then he went back out and kept firing," Lay said.



Everyone was on the floor but the gunman kept pulling the trigger, Lay said. "The dude came in, told everyone to hit the floor. But the dude doesn't wait and starts shooting," he said. "He pointed the gun all around. He wasn't aiming. . . People were hollering and shots were popping."



One of the people on the floor, a regular known as "E.C.," 65, had a gun of his own. "E.C. hit the floor when this dude come in with a pistol in his hand," Lay said. "He got hit in the feet but he shot back."



Another man in the club, who had been in the back with Lay, also pulled a gun and fired. "I don't think he hit anyone," Lay said.



The gunman, a 23-year-old man from Chicago, stopped shooting by the time officers arrived around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. Also wounded were four patrons: E.C. and another Gary man, 76; a 45-year-old Chicago man; and a 43-year-old East Chicago man, according to police.



All five were taken to Gary Methodist Hospital, where E.C. underwent surgery. One of the victims was airlifted to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, three others were stabilized at Gary Methodist and one was treated and released, according to a hospital administrator.



The gunman was in custody at the hospital. Police were trying to determine whether he acted alone, according to Cpl. Gabrielle King of the Gary Police Department.