An Atlanta security guard says he’s thankful to be alive after a gunman shot him in the chest, inches from his heart.
Gregory Thomas III, 27, was working security on Peachtree Street near Seventh Street in Midtown Atlanta on Thursday.
Maro Lam, the manager of the Bachi Box across the street, said Thomas was hired to guard an empty building to prevent people from breaking in.
Thomas told WAGA a man approached him around 10 p.m.
“I’m like ‘Hey, bro, you can’t be on this property,’” Thomas said.
He told WSB-TV the same individual had been at the property earlier that day.
At one point, Thomas said the individual pulled out a gun, so he pulled out his own. Then, the man fired a single shot into Thomas’ chest.
“He shot me only one time. When he shot, he got me good,” Thomas said.
“I just remember after I got shot, I let go about 17, 16 rounds,” Thomas added. “I started trying to basically tell everybody to call the ambulance, going from car to car just trying to get a ride to Grady Hospital. And nobody would let me in their car.”
Witnesses told police they heard at least 15 gunshots during the incident.
“All of us ducked. We started running inside the restaurant,” Lam told WANF. “We were ducking behind the counters and everything.”
Thomas stumbled his way into the street, looking for someone to call an ambulance.
“I was just like bruh, I can’t go out like this. I can’t die like this.”
He began banging on cars, looking for someone to help him, until he passed out in the street.
Bystanders Step in
WAGA reported a man and woman rushed to Thomas’ side. They began performing CPR while they waited for first responders.
Thomas also recalled the woman stayed by his side and prayed.
“She said I came right back to life. I really feel like her prayer brought me back to life,” he said.
Camille Bell, Thomas’ mother, reportedly tracked the woman down. WAGA reported that she is a retired nurse. She and the man who helped Thomas that day have not been identified.
“We have talked to her multiple times, and she is such an angel on earth,” Bell said. “We found out she’s a retired nurse. So she just so happened to be in the right place at the right time again, his two Earth angels.”
Bell said her son had a collapsed lung, broken ribs from the compressions, and needed a blood transfusion.
She added that she hopes to track down the man who helped save her son too.
Despite what happened, Thomas told WSB-TV that he isn’t holding a grudge against the man who shot him.
“Plenty of forgiveness,” he said. “I feel like I’m still down here because I haven’t fulfilled my purpose.”
Atlanta police confirmed no one has been arrested in connection with the shooting.
