An altercation near closing time early Saturday morning inside a Butler bar ended in gunfire, city police said.

Bartender Adam Christy, 29, of Butler, who was on duty at the Island Bar, is in a Pittsburgh hospital where he is being treated for two gunshot wounds to the stomach.

The alleged shooter, Joshua James Rock, 22, of Penn Township, remains in the Butler County Prison on $250,000 bail on charges of attempted homicide and aggravated assault.

Police more than six hours after the 2 a.m. Saturday shooting found Rock at a Butler church, soaking wet and suffering from an apparent case of hypothermia.

The suspect told investigators, according to court documents, he had fallen into a creek and blacked out during his getaway.

Police said Rock admitted to pulling a .357-caliber revolver and shooting Christy.

Lt. James Hollobaugh was working at 2:05 a.m. Saturday when Melinda Kutsch flagged him down on North Main Street. Kutsch was driving to Butler Memorial Hospital with the shooting victim in her car.

Kutsch told the officer she had found Christy, who she identified as her daughter's boyfriend, wounded in front of the bar and in the middle of West Wayne Street, investigators said.

Police followed Kutsch to the hospital where Christy was initially treated for two gunshot wounds to the abdomen. Officers also were able to briefly speak with him.

Christy said he had been shot by a man who did not want to leave the bar. He did not know the shooter.

Investigators at the hospital recovered a bullet round that had gone through Christy's buttocks and ended up in his clothing.

Soon after, documents said, he was taken to Allegheny General Hospital and underwent surgery to remove portions of his stomach, colon and intestine.

He is listed in critical but stable condition. Family members said Christy was to undergo another operation today.

Back at the bar, police Detective Sgt. Dave Dalcamo found blood stains and a spent bullet slug on the floor. He also spotted a set of keys and a pack of cigarettes on the counter.

The keys were found to fit a pickup truck parked in front of the bar. Investigators seized the truck, which they learned is owned by Rock's father.

At 8:46 a.m., police said, a custodian at Christ's Outreach Church on Walker Avenue notified authorities of an injured man who had appeared at the church in need of medical assistance.

"He was beating on the door of the church," Dalcamo told the Butler Eagle. "The custodian looked out and saw him, and then called 911."

The man, identified as the suspect, was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital and treated for exposure.

"His body temperature at the hospital was 94 degrees," said Dalcamo, who after reading Rock his Miranda warnings, briefly questioned the suspect at BMH.

Rock "advised me that he had been in an altercation at the Island Bar," Dalcamo said in court papers, "and he did fire two rounds from a .357 revolver."

The defendant was released from the hospital at 11:48 a.m. and interviewed at the police station. He again waived his right to an attorney, police said.

The defendant told investigators he had been to at least two other bars in Penn and Butler townships New Year's night before going to the Island Bar.

He said while there he had a beer and spoke to the bartender, who he apparently did not know before that night, documents said.

Christy had previously announced "last call" and wanted to leave, police said. No one else was in the bar.

At some point, Rock claimed, the two got into an argument that escalated into a "physical altercation," according to a police affidavit.

"Rock stated he pulled a .357 Rossi revolver from his waistband," the affidavit said, "and fired two rounds."

He characterized the first shot as a "warning shot" not fired at Christy, investigators said. But Rock allegedly admitted he pointed the gun at Christy when he fired the second time.

He apparently knew the gunfire had struck Christy's body when he ran out of the bar, police said. Only after Rock made it to his truck did he realize he had forgotten the keys on the counter.

He got out of the truck and ran south on South Washington Street toward Connoquenessing Creek, hoping to make it to Route 8, investigators said.

"He might have been trying to cross the creek," Dalcamo told the Butler Eagle, "and didn't know how deep it was."

Rock told police he fell into the creek but was able to reach an embankment before he "blacked out," the affidavit said. When he regained consciousness after some time, he "managed to make it to the church."

Dalcamo estimated the church is about a half-mile from where Rock went into the water.

Police, after speaking to the defendant, recovered a Rossi .357-caliber revolver around the area of the creek north of Route 8.

The gun, which was registered to Rock, had two spent casings and four live rounds in the chamber.