In what a Colorado district attorney calls a "one in a billion shot," a Jefferson County deputy successfully disabled a robber's gun by firing a bullet down its barrel, the Denver Post reports. According to KUSA, the shooting happened in January, but authorities released their report on it this week. On Jan. 26, Jose Marquez was off duty and visiting his girlfriend at her apartment in Aurora when he was confronted by two masked men, KFOR reports. One of the men pulled a gun, so Marquez went for his. The robber shot Marquez twice in the stomach and once in the shoulder. Miraculously, Marquez was able to return fire. Even more miraculous was where one of his four shots ended up.
Marquez's bullet traveled up the barrel of the robber's gun, hit a cartridge in the chamber, and disabled the weapon. It may have saved his life. “I don’t know that that can be done again,” the director of Colorado's Active Shooter Response Training Center tells KUSA. He says he's certainly never seen it. In their report released Wednesday, investigators found Marquez, who is still recovering from his injuries, was justified in his shooting. “I’m not dying today. Not today. Another day, maybe. It’s not my time yet,” the Post reports Marquez told investigators regarding the shooting. A 17-year-old, who was shot in the leg by Marquez, has been charged in connection with the shooting. The second suspect has never been caught.
