Laptop May Have Saved Man's Life in Airport Shooting

'If I didn't have that backpack on, the bullet would have shot me'
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 7, 2017 2:12 PM CST
Man's Laptop Took a Bullet for Him in Airport Shooting
Passengers take cover in Terminal 1 at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport, Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.   (Paul E. Kostyu via AP)

A 37-year-old man says his school-issued laptop may have saved his life during Friday's deadly shooting at a Florida airport, the Miami Herald reports. Steve Frappier, a school counselor from Atlanta, flew into Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for an education conference. After shoving his laptop in his backpack, he debarked the plane and headed for baggage claim, according to CNN. When a gunman opened fire, Frappier hit the deck like everyone else. He says he was "like a tortoise with the backpack on me."

While on the ground, Frappier says he felt something hit his back. He figured it was a piece of luggage falling on him, but when everything was all over, he checked his backpack and found a bullet hole in his Macbook Pro. FBI agents later found the bullet in one of his backpack's pockets. “If I didn’t have that backpack on, the bullet would have shot me between the shoulders,” Frappier tells the Herald.. “It still doesn’t feel real.” (More shooting stories.)

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