The 7th June could have been Aiden Perry’s last day on earth if it weren’t for the necklace he happened to be wearing.
The 20-year-old from Florida was only 10 feet away when his friend accidentally shot him in the chest (just an inch from his heart) with a .40-calibre pistol. The gold cross necklace his dad gave him happened to save his life.
“I think God played a big role in this,” Perry told WESH-TV. “I think He’s the reason that I’m still here today… It’s just kind of a reminder now – to never stop believing. Keep believing… God’s definitely real.”
One of the doctors at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, where Perry is currently recovering, even called it “divine intervention” – agreeing that the gold cross on his necklace helped save his life because it shielded the bullet from penetrating his chest as deeply as it could have.
“The bullet ricocheted off the necklace and entered his chest shallowly,” Dr Khafra Garcia-Henry told WESH-TV. “However, it was just in his fat tissue, because it slowed down the trajectory of the bullet… [It could’ve] entered his chest wall itself… injuring his lung or his heart.”
Aaron Perry, the victim’s father, gifted his son the cross necklace last Christmas.
“So many emotions,” he told WESH-TV. “I would say it was just a gift, but it came from the heart.”
According to WESH-TV, the shooter was arrested and charged with culpable negligence causing injury.