In Brazil, I was shot in the back

On Saturday, May 11th, 2013, in Brazil, I was shot in the back!.

Here's the story.

(I will be posting it bit-by-bit, as I'm quite busy at the moment. Last update: Thu May 22 21:25:40 CEST 2014)

Getting shot

For this first part (that of the shooting) there are no photos, so I tried to use Google's street view. It's as close as it can get.

My point of view

So, I was visiting my girlfriend who was living at the time in São Mateus, Espírito Santo, Brazil. And on the last night of my stay there, while in my girlfriend's flat,

I had the brightest idea to go for a quick walk around the block with her, even though it was past midnight.

Here is a map to make things clearer:

So at some point we are standing and arguing about something on the spot indicated on the map. I remember I'm looking towards this wall,

my girlfriend towards me. Suddenly, on my right I hear some 5-6 guys yelling and what I thought at the time was fireworks, running and making a turn on the street we were on, coming this way:

my girlfriend thought the noise was actually gunshots (and in fact they were: the guys were armed and shooting..) and so she immediately told me to run and we started running on the opposite direction (obviously). This alley went on for the longest 100m I've ever seen, and there was absolutely nowhere else to go/turn, except straight. "Shit, they want to kill me/us", I thought.

And so, as the gunshots are getting plentier, more and more bullets are flying by, and we're still running...

...and running...

and damn!, I feel something on my back (mostly felt as if someone shot a small rock at me with a sling or something); yet there's no time to waste, and surprisingly I keep on running even faster now:

"They got me!", I shout, though my girlfriend who was running next to me, did not hear this. And I'm wondering if I really got shot or not. These are gunshots, for sure, something hit me, definitely, therefore I'm probably shot! ...but how the fuck am I still running and why am I not lying on the ground? (Thank you, adrenaline.) Meanwhile we're still running...

and thoughts like that keep crossing my mind, and I'm still running...

..and it's taking so fucking long! (Probably about 20-30 seconds, which may not seem that long, but take my word for it, it's a bit too long if you're running away from bullets..) ..Still running..

..and running, and we're now finally approaching to the first point where we can actually get the hell off that street,

and finally we're making this turn..! And there they are, 2-3 police officers, armed, aiming at me, fingers on the trigger, ready to shoot me down, while I'm running towards them, my hands in the air, trying to ask them for help:

Meanwhile, my girlfriend who still does not know that I've been shot (my shirt was very dark and so the blood was not visible) is trying to pull me out of the way, yet I keep running towards them.

"I WAS SHOT!", I yell, and then she heard... There is a police car there, 3 police officers around it, trying to understand what the hell is going on with me.

"Moment of truth", I thought to myself, "I gotta lift my shirt, and show them my back.. it will either be nothing, and they will probably think I am one of the gang, trying to stall the police, or...". Unfortunately, it was the "or" part. I will never forget my girlfriend's face, the moment I lifted my shirt and she saw the hole in my back... (So, wait a minute.. then I did get shot.. and then.. fuck, there's obviously a bullet inside of me! FUCK.)

The police officers are a bit puzzled, they don't know if they should do something about me, or ignore me for the time being and go after the thugs to stop them (objectively not such a bad call).

And it seems that they decided that indeed it's the best thing to do, and they get in the car but my girlfriend who is screaming and crying, runs and literally blocks the car door from closing and does not let them leave unless they get me to a hospital. That move right there saved my life.

And so they put me in the police car, and bit by bit, my body is starting to realize something: "You've been shot. That's not exactly normal. You should be in pain. There is a bullet inside of you." And after about 10 minutes, some pain and trembling is starting to make an appearence, getting stronger steadily. I can still walk, I still feel quite strong, yet—just in case—I start saying some things to my girlfriend: some meant for her, others to pass along to others, "just in case...".

What the hell was going on

Apparently, the 5-6 guys that I thought were one group of thugs, were actually two groups: 2-3 thugs in the back, running after and shooting at 2-3 guys in front.. They were coming from here..:

making this turn, running towards us:

Two or three of the intended victims got shot, none died, I think. One of them was actually shot at the neck, the bullet pierced right through without causing any serious damage(!!!!), and in fact, there's a good chance that this is the bullet that ended up inside my back! (We ended up in the same hospital, and he was good to go after a few minutes!)

And as if 2-3 guys shooting on a street was not enough, on top of that, behind them, there was a hidden undercover police officer, who was also shooting, trying to hit the shooters.

So... Why the fuck was I shot? And by whom? Here are some possible explanations:

I was shot by a stray bullet from one of the 2-3 thugs, that was meant to kill their intended victims, who were running in front of them.
I was shot by the same bullet that pierced through the neck of one of the intended victims.
I was shot by a stray bullet from the undercover officer, that was meant for the shooters.
I was intentionally shot at by the shooters, who thought that since it was just me and my girlfriend there, they should not take any chances with eye witnesses.
After gunning down their victims, the shooters thought "haha, cool, two people running, let's shoot at them, it's fun."

That last one seems completey far-stretched if you think at it with a mentally healthy mind; but I do not consider it to be unlikely at all. A life is worth nothing, and shooting and killing is fun... Right?

Next part: in the hospital. (To be posted later.)

Hospital in São Mateus

Finally we arrive at the hospital, they park the car, and they instruct me to stay inside the car, while they get out, wielding their guns and "securing" the area, pretty much like you see in the movies. "Oh, shit, the threat's not over, they have probably followed me/us here", I think. At this point I get completely convinced that it is some kind of personal thing, and even worse, not over yet.

I will post the rest of the story real soon. Meanwhile, here are some photos.