Remembering The Day I Was Shot

Next Tuesday, August 1st, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood goes on trial in Fort Worth for Aggravated Robbery With Serious Bodily Injury. I was the victim of his crime. I have never really discussed this except with close family members, but with the trial looming, maybe it is time to tell the story. Who knows, it may even be therapeutic.

The date was September 19, 2006 and it was a sunny summer day in Fort Worth. I had taken my daughter downtown, because she had been called for jury duty in a federal case. It was only in the low 90's that day [which is pretty good for Texas in the summer], so instead of driving the nearly 20 miles home to wait for her, I decided to go to a nearby city park instead.

I drove to Oakhurst Park near the Trinity River, found an empty picnic table, and sat down to read the Walter Mosley novel "Big Bad Brawley Brown". I had read for approximately an hour, when this guy comes up to where I was sitting. He was breathing hard and trying to catch his breath, and said to me, "I can't breath." Thinking he may be having a heart attack or something, I picked up my cellphone to possibly call 911. Suddenly he grabbed my car keys, which were on the table beside me. I quickly grabbed them back, and he took a step back, reached under his shirt, and pulled a gun out of his waistband.

He didn't say a thing. He just shot without aiming, and hit me in the stomach. Then he grabbed my keys again and drove off in my car, leaving me lying there on the table. I vividly remember two thoughts that popped into my mind at that time. The first was, "Damn, he's killed me", and the second was, "I thought I would die of cancer like my father had."

I realized if I just lay there, I would die for sure. So, I pulled myself up and started to walk to the street, about thirty yards away. I got about halfway, when my legs just buckled and I fell. At that moment a pickup pulled up and a man jumped out saying, "Are you OK?" I answered, "No. I've been shot." He replied, "I've already called 911 and they're on the way." I learned later that he had been across the park, and had seen the whole thing. This good samaritan stayed with me until the police and ambulance had arrived. I believe this gentleman saved my life.

The Fort Worth police officers arrived a couple of minutes later, and the ambulance was only a couple of minutes behind that. I want to praise both the police and the EMT's. They got there quickly and performed their jobs professionally. When I arrived at the hospital, I was met by a surgeon, who immediately wheeled me into an elevator to take me to the operating room. I asked him, "Am I going to live?" He answered, "I won't know until I see how much damage has been done inside you." Then a nurse stuck a needle in my arm, and I went out like a light. I don't even remember leaving the elevator.

I have never been so thrilled to wake up, as I was a few hours later in Intensive Care. My daughter and my son were there, and they tell me the first question I asked was, "Did the Cowboys win?." The Cowboys had been scheduled to play on the day I was shot. As you can see, I am a huge Dallas Cowboy fan. Since their start in 1960, I have never missed a Cowboys game, either in person, on TV, or on the radio. To this day, I think I resent him making me miss the Cowboys game more than I resent him shooting me. My second question was, "Did they save my book?" I am an avid reader and love all books [except those written by Ann Coulter, of course].

My recovery took about two and a half months, and involved a second hospital stay [the wound got infected]. I returned to work on November 30, 2006. At this point, I would like to praise the Attorney General's Crime Victim Compensation Fund. Without their help, I would have been financially ruined, and probably homeless as well.

I learned later that my assailant had been running from the police. Tarrant County officers had tried to arrest him, and he got into his pickup and left. The officers did not chase him [their car did not have the neccessary siren and flashing lights]. However, he did not know they had broken off the chase. He had wrecked his pickup a couple of blocks from where I was sitting in the park, and was looking for another vehicle when he saw me. He later stole two other vehicles and tried to steal a third. Fortunately, he did not shoot anyone else. Fort Worth police officers caught him later that same day.

Well, that's the story. The trial starts next Tuesday, and I'll have to testify in both the guilt and penalty phases of the trial. The D.A. says the trial will only last 2-3 days. I'm glad. I'll be very happy to get this whole thing behind me.