A 32-year-old man who flirted with another man’s girlfriend -- then fatally shot and killed a friend of the man after an argument and fight broke out -- was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison.

Investigators say Bradley Carl O’Rourke was leaving Club Skinn, a Northeast Portland strip club, about 2:25 a.m. on May 8, 2013, when he walked past a group of five people. That’s when he made some flirtatious comments to a 21-year-old woman in the group and a scuffle broke out.

Police investigators believe O'Rourke punched one person in the face, and after about 20 second he pulled out a gun and fired three rounds.

“Mr. O’Rourke brought a gun to a fistfight,” said Deputy District Attorney Adam Gibbs. “He started the fight. He ended the fight.”

Bradley Carl O'Rourke

Last week, O'Rourke pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter for killing Anton L. Hill, 33, with a bullet to the head. Hill was a father of five.

O’Rourke also pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree assault for shooting the woman who was the subject of his flirtatious comment. Joy Wilson, 21, suffered a bullet to one of her biceps.

O'Rourke ran off immediately after the shooting but turned himself in two days later. He was charged with murder, attempted murder and first-degree assault. Both the defense and prosecution agree that alcohol was involved on both sides in the scuffle outside the club near Northeast 60th Avenue and Prescott Street.

O’Rourke claimed he was alone when a group of people attacked him, followed him and threw bottles at him. He said he was acting in self-defense.

O’Rourke reiterated that position during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. In a courtroom filled with relatives of his and of Hill, O’Rourke didn’t apologize. Instead, he said he had been attacked by a threatening group of people and that he was thinking about his own life with his wife and daughter when he fired off his gun.

“I’m a human like anyone else,” O’Rourke said. “When I feel fear, ... I’m going to protect myself.”

That visibly upset Hill's family, including his sister, who began to cry and shout that she didn't attend the hearing to listen to O'Rourke defend his actions. O'Rourke put the bullets in the gun he used to kill her brother, she said.

"He knew what he was doing!" Arnecia Ross screamed. "He knew what he was doing!"

She abruptly left the courtroom.

Bradley O'Rourke fatally shot Anton L. Hill outside Club Skinn in Northeast Portland on May 8, 2013.

"Mr. O'Rourke," said Multnomah County Circuit Judge Eric Bergstrom, "I want you to think about if you really want to continue."

O'Rourke responded: “No, I’m done.” He sat down.

Earlier in the hearing, O’Rourke’s mother said her son wasn’t a violent person. His wife, Sheena O’Rourke, said her husband “was a licensed gun carrier for over 10 years and never, ever used his weapon. He’d always been responsible.”

Authorities, however, said they searched but were unable to find any record that O’Rourke carried a concealed weapons permit in Oregon.

During Hill’s relatives' turn at the podium, they spoke of their deep grief. Arnecia Ross also had thanked O’Rourke for turning himself in to police after the shooting, something that helped give her family some closure.

“I just miss my brother,” she said. “I’m not mad at you. ... I will never forgive you, though.”

Hill’s mother, Jacquelyn Ross, said she’s saddened because Hill will never again hear his five children say, “I love you.”

“I hope you have some pain and hurt like I have,” Ross said.

If O’Rourke had been convicted of murder, he would have been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of release after 25 years. He was represented by defense attorneys Jane Claus and Steve Lindsey.

-- Aimee Green