Jason Derfuss: FSU Student Shot In Back, Book Bag Saves Life

Jason Derfuss, a student at Florida State University, said that he is lucky to still be alive after the library books inside of his book bag were able to successfully stop a bullet from reaching his back.

The Daily Mail reports that the 21-year-old humanities student checked out the books from the Florida State University library shortly before the shooting began.

Reports show that Jason Derfuss was leaving the building shortly before he was shot in the back.

In an interview with NBC News, the 21-year-old humanities student provided a detailed account of his experience — including his strong belief that his life was saved by those library books.

“There is no way I should be alive… Literally, those books saved my life. I knew it was a gunshot right away and slowly turned around to see the gunman running toward another student and shoot him two times. I was about 50 yards away and ran to my car and called my dad, who told me to call 911.”

According to the Daily News, Jason Derfuss also shared his experience on his official Facebook page. Derfuss states in a post that he did not even think about checking his book bag until nearly three hours after the shooting had occurred. As he pulled the library books from out of his book bag, Jason realized just how close he was to becoming hit by one of the bullets.

Derfuss states that while he closely examined the condition of the books, his friend found a bullet lodged in the back page.

NBC News reports that The Oxford Context of Wyclif’s Thought was the name of the book that caught the bullet, a 304-page book written by Stephen Edmund Lahey.

“One minute I am checking out books and the next I am crying on my bedroom floor thinking I shouldn’t be alive. Those books saved me, and God saved me.”

In his Facebook message, Jason Derfuss also discusses his belief that divine intervention played a major role in saving his life. Derfuss acknowledged that he knew God could “do all things,” but said that having the opportunity to “physically witness the impossible” was “indescribable.”

Myron May, a 31-year-old lawyer and FSU alumnus, opened fire on the campus at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday morning, wounding three people. May graduated from Florida State University in 2005 and reportedly planned to take the state bar exam in February.

[Image Credit: Gannett-CDN & Daily News]