Man grazed by bullet during DeKalb shootout says he’s grateful his car stopped some bullets

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Police are still searching for more suspects days after a shootout injured three innocent bystanders at a DeKalb County convenience store.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes is speaking exclusively with one of the victims who says he was grazed by a bullet and his car was shot at least six times.

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Juwon, who did not want to be identified with his last name, says he, his wife and another friend drove right into the shootout on Tuesday night.

He says he believes that he drove into the shootout purposely so they could protect other people.

Surveillance video from the scene shows Juwon’s car stop in the middle of the shootout. He says he accidentally pushed his car out of gear by mistake while trying to get away from the bullets.

“By me stopping there, that guy ran away. The other guy in the black that fell in front of me, it may have spared his life. And if my car didn’t catch those bullets, those bullets would’ve went somewhere, there could’ve been someone innocent in the store who could’ve gotten hit,” Juwon explained.

Two other bystanders were also shot on Tuesday night.

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“For the amount of bullets rang out, and there’s no casualties,” he said. “I feel like our energy was brought here to shift the atmosphere.”

Juwon’s saving the shirt he was wearing that night as a reminder that his life was spared for a reason.

“I was millimeters away from death, and this is literally blood from my head,” he said.

Fernandes spoke with another of the victims, Atif Ray, from his hospital bed earlier this week. He was shot twice.

“I was sitting in my truck actually, sending a text message at a gas station on Candler,” Ray said. “I didn’t see anything. I was looking down at my phone. But I know what it sounds like. That’s the world we live in. It’s scary.”

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