Victim of sniper-style attack says metal hip saved his life

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — For the first time, we're hearing from one of the victims shot in a sniper-style attack on a Hall County highway.

Harvey Kerby showed Channel 2's Matt Johnson the car he was driving in and he says he has a lot for which to be thankful for.

The bullet that hit him actually went through his car, in this area then right into his hip but his metal hip implant kept it from traveling any farther into his body.

The Hall County sheriff says Rex Harbour used a 9 mm pistol to shoot seven cars on Highway 365 near Whitehall Road.

Authorities say Harbour shot and killed himself after a short chase.

"I was worried I was gonna bleed to death," Kerby said.

Kerby said a bullet traveled through his car door and through his seat belt before it landed in his hip as he drove.

"If he would have shot a foot higher, it may have killed me," he said.

He was losing blood Friday morning but he was gaining an understanding of what had just happened right when a deputy showed up.

"He kept saying, 'Did you see the car?' and I said, "Oh no, he's shooting from the woods,'" he said. "I told the cop, 'There he goes, There he goes,' and he turned and saw it, and he saw it, and he hollered up the road to the SUV screaming, 'Here he goes! Here goes!' And they took off in the SUV after him."

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The sheriff said deputies found documents at Harbour's home that showed he idolized the Parkland, Florida, mass shooter.

Authorities found more than 3,400 rounds of ammunition in Harbour's car.

"When he came out of the road, he didn't do it at a high rate of speed. He tried to sneak out but they caught him," he said.

Kerby isn't complaining about the soreness in his hip.

"I hope that I don't have a limp rest of my life, but if I do, hey, I'm alive," Kerby said.

He says the best pain relief he got Friday was finding out the shooter's death was the only one.

"The good thing is they got him and that'll be one bad guy in this world we won't have to worry about," he said.

Cox Media Group