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Bible in man’s pocket stops bullets fired at Ohio bus driver

Maggie Knors Contributor
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A bus driver in Dayton, Ohio survived two gun shots Monday due to a Bible in his pocket.

The Dayton Daily News reports that Rickey Wagoner had stepped off his Dayton RTA bus early Monday morning to see why it wasn’t running properly when three individuals assaulted him in what appeared to be a gang initiation.

Wagoner told police he overheard one man telling another to kill him if he wanted “to be all the way in the club.”

One of the men aimed at his chest and shot twice, before Wagoner tried to wrestle the gun away, he told police. The gun discharged another bullet into his right leg during the fight.

The two bullets fired at his chest were blocked by Wagoner’s copy of the “The Message” version of the Bible, which was in his shirt pocket, a police spokesman told the Dayton Daily News.

Wagoner called 911 at 5:20 a.m. and told the dispatcher, “I’ve been hit in the leg. My chest feels like I’ve been hit with a sledgehammer.”

“There was obviously some kind of intervention involved in this incident because he should probably not be here,” Dayton Police Sgt. Michael Pauley told the Daily News.

Wagoner eventually wrestled the gun from the shooter, but was also stabbed in the arm. He retaliated by stabbing one of the individuals with a pen — which caused the assailants to flee.

Wagoner reportedly fired shots at the assailants as they ran away.

Pauley said Wagoner is recovering and that his injuries are not life threatening.

“I’ve heard stories about that happening during the second World War. I’m glad to be in the club,” Eugene Petersen, author of “The Message” version told FoxNews.com.

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Maggie Knors