A man who was accidentally shot last month is crediting his cross necklace with saving his life after the bullet hit the jewelry and spared him from experiencing a far worse outcome.
In an interview with NBC News affiliate WESH, Aidan Perry of Marion County, Florida, held his cross necklace in his hand and described it as a “life-saver.”
“I probably wouldn’t be talking to you guys right now [without it],” said the 20-year-old Perry, who was shot after a gun that his friend was showing him accidentally fired.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know.
“They said [it entered] an inch above my heart and then from there, it hit the cross,” Perry said, referring to doctors’ description of the bullet’s path. He noted that one of the doctors who treated him pointed to the bullet hitting the cross as “divine intervention.”
Perry insisted that “God played a big role” in his survival, adding, “I think He’s the reason I’m still here today.”
In a separate interview with FOX 35 Orlando, Perry discussed the impact of the shooting on his Christian faith. “I was religious before, I’d consider myself more religious now than ever,” he insisted.
Recalling how he felt the moment the bullet first entered his body, Perry told the local news outlet, “I thought I was going to die” after seeing “tons of blood.”
Dr. Khafra Garcia Henry of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital addressed the role the cross played in saving Perry’s life: “Because of its metallic component, it actually shielded a lot of the force of the bullet, so the bullet ricocheted off the necklace and entered his chest wall. However, it was just in his fat tissues because it slowed down the trajectory of the bullet.”
When asked about how the situation would have turned out if he was not wearing the cross, Henry responded, “It could have been way worse, entering his chest wall itself into the pleural space, which is the airspace around the lung between the bones and injuring his lung itself or his heart.”
Henry told FOX 35 Orlando that the bullet missed every vital organ in Perry’s body, preventing him from experiencing a possibly fatal outcome.
While Perry still suffered wounds to his chest and arm as a result of the accidental shooting, he is optimistic and happy that the incident did not result in a more tragic outcome. “Even with a little bit of pain, I’m still here, so it’s fine,” he remarked.
Perry received the cross as a Christmas gift from his father, Aaron. Aaron Perry insisted that there “was more than just a piece of metal there, 100 percent.”
Images of the cross taken after the shooting show the chain necklace still intact, although the cross itself is broken. As for Perry’s friend who accidentally shot him, he now faces a misdemeanor charge of culpable negligence causing injury in Sumter County.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
