Motorist who was shot in head by group of young men last week: ‘I could have died’

A motorist who was shot in the head last week as he passed a group of young men standing in the street said Sunday that he is lucky to be alive.

The victim talked to the Star-Telegram in a telephone interview on the condition that his name not be used for fear of retaliation by the suspects.

“My doctor said 1 millimeter over and the bullet would have hit an artery,” the victim said. “And I could have died.”

The shooting occurred shortly before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 2600 block of Harvest Moon Drive in south Fort Worth.

A preliminary police report stated that the victim waved at a group of young men in the street and was shot as he drove by them.

But the victim said he never waved at them; instead, he said, one of the suspects motioned for him to stop his 2006 Toyota.

“It looked suspicious,” the victim said. “They were standing in the middle of the street, but they had allowed just enough room to let me drive my car through.”

Two young men were on the right and two were on the left. The victim said he had never seen them before and had not had any problems with young men in the neighborhood.

Just as he drove past them, the victim — the only person in the car — said he heard a gunshot. “My rear window got blown out, and my head became numb.”

He said he went into shock but managed to drive the short distance home and call police. He was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital.

The bullet went into the back of his head near his left ear and knocked out two teeth.

Police found a shell casing at the site of the shooting. No arrests have been made.

The victim was released from the hospital Friday.

“I believe it was a random act,” he said. “I also think they were organized and intended to shoot me all along.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2017 at 3:46 PM with the headline "Motorist who was shot in head by group of young men last week: ‘I could have died’."