Atlanta Man Shot In The Head After Letting A Woman Use His Phone – Bullet Was Centimeters From Taking His Life

So sad! A man was shot in the head near a MARTA station after he was trying to do a good dead and let a woman who was in distress use his cell phone. 

Forty-six-year-old Derrick Watson’s family announced that he did survive the bullet and he is now in critical condition at Grady Memorial Hospital. According to Fox 5, Watson told his family what happened on that tragic day while he was in hospital. Watson says he let a woman use his phone while he was on his way to work and moments after a drive by shooting occurred and one of the bullets hit Watson in the head. “Being the warm kind-hearted person that Derrick is, he didn’t hesitate to pull out his phone to hand it to her when a car drove by and shot him in the head,” said Tawania Calhoun, his sister told the news outlet. 

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Just after 3 p.m. Monday, officers rushed to the scene near Browning Street NW and West Lake Avenue SW after they got word of the shooting. Atlanta police announced that they do not believe Watson was the intended target. Doctors told them the bullet was just centimeters away from taking Watson’s life. Grady surgeons rushed right into the operating room to remove the bullet from his brain.

“I’m so sad,” said his mom Verna Brown, stepping away from her son’s bedside to speak with FOX 5. “It’s hurting to see him like that. When I first approached him, tears fell from his eyes.”

His daughter tells me she’s heartbroken, but also relieved she didn’t lose him.

“It’s been very emotional for me,” said Deja Watson. “I can’t sit in the room with him without tearing up.”

Police haven’t released any footage of the car the shooter was in, nor did they identify any suspects Tuesday evening.

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“We want the suspect to be found and punished for his crimes because my dad didn’t deserve it,” Deja said. “He could’ve died and then I would’ve been fatherless.”

“God got him,” said his mom, Verna. “God got him. Just keep praying and hoping for the best.”

Watson’s family says he has a long road to recovery ahead of him while doctors wait to find out the damage done to his brain, adding that he may need speech and mobility therapy.