A
Bible saved the life of a Ohio bus driver after the man was shot twice in the
chest early Monday, police said.
Rickey
Waggoner, a Dayton RTA bus driver, was making a mechanical fix outside his bus
when three assailants approached him and shot him in what appears to have been
a gang initiation, the Dayton Daily News reported.
Waggoner
was shot twice in the chest at close range, but a contemporary version of the
Bible, titled "The Message," absorbed the bullets that would
otherwise have killed the 49-year-old bus driver, according to police documents
obtained by the newspaper.
"I've heard stories
about that happening during the second World War. I'm glad to be in the
club."
-
Eugene Peterson, author of "The Message"
"There
was obviously some kind of intervention involved in this incident because
(Waggoner) should probably not be here," Dayton Police Sgt. Michael Pauley
told the paper at the scene.
Sgt.
Richard Blommel of the Dayton Police homicide squad declined to comment on the
shooting when contacted by FoxNews.com.
Reached
at his home in Lakeside, Mont., Eugene H. Peterson, author of "The
Message," told FoxNews.com that he was thrilled to know his book stopped
bullets.
That's
wonderful," said Peterson, who is 81. "I've heard stories about that
happening during the second World War. I'm glad to be in the club."
Waggoner
reportedly told police that one of the assailants was heard telling another to
kill the man "if you want to be all the way in the club."
Waggoner
was shot in the leg after he tried to wrestle the weapon away from one of the
suspects, according to the newspaper. While another assailant stabbed him in
the arm, Waggoner was able to grab both the gun and knife, prompting the
suspects -- described as being 15 to 18 years old -- to flee. Waggoner then
sought refuge inside his bus, where he managed to call police.