A 27-year-old Colorado man is being hailed as the recipient of a true miracle after surviving what should have been a fatal gunshot to the chest. Police confirmed that during a heated altercation outside an apartment complex in Commerce City, the man was shot at close range — but instead of piercing his heart, the bullet smashed into a silver cross necklace he was wearing. The impact deflected the projectile away from his body, leaving him with only minor injuries.
The extraordinary event unfolded late in the evening after a confrontation broke out between the victim and another man in the parking lot of a residential building. Neighbors reported hearing shouting before a single gunshot echoed across the street. When police and paramedics arrived, they found the victim conscious, shaken, and clutching the broken necklace that had just saved his life. Officers later described the scene as something they “would never forget.”
One responding officer told CBS Colorado that the cross bore a clear indentation from the bullet, which had been redirected into a nearby wall. “It would have hit directly over his heart,” the officer said. “Without that necklace, we’d be dealing with a homicide right now.” Investigators recovered fragments of the shattered jewelry along with bullet marks etched into the brick behind where the man had been standing.
Police in Commerce City say a silver cross necklace deflected a bullet that would have killed a man. “This is as close to a miracle as I’ve ever seen,” said one officer. pic.twitter.com/miraclecross— Denver Post (@denverpost) September 2023
Paramedics rushed the victim to the hospital, where doctors confirmed he had only bruising and a superficial cut on his chest. “It’s shocking,” one ER nurse told reporters. “From the angle of the shot, he should have been dead on arrival. Instead, we treated him for something closer to a burn.” The man is now recovering at home, still shaken but physically unharmed — and carrying a story that doctors say is almost medically impossible.
The necklace itself has quickly become the centerpiece of the investigation. According to NBC News, detectives have photographed the twisted silver cross and are using it as evidence while they continue searching for the shooter. Officials have not yet located the firearm and have released no further details about the suspect, who fled the scene before officers arrived. Police are urging anyone with surveillance footage or information to step forward.
Witnesses who saw the confrontation unfold told reporters they couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed. One man, who lives on the second floor of the complex, said he heard yelling, then the unmistakable crack of a gun. “I looked down and thought he was done,” the witness explained. “But he stood back up and pointed to his chest. That cross literally stopped death. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“He should be dead. No question about it,” said a witness. “That cross saved his life. You can’t explain it any other way.” pic.twitter.com/savedbyfaith— ABC News (@ABC) September 2023
Neighbors gathered around the police tape in disbelief, some openly calling it a sign from God. One woman told a local station that the victim wore the necklace daily and often referred to it as his “protector.” Others remarked that whether it was divine intervention or sheer luck, the timing of the bullet hitting the cross could not have been more precise. “A centimeter in any other direction and we’d be telling a different story,” another neighbor said.
The incident has since sparked a flood of reactions online, with thousands of users sharing the story and calling it a miracle. Social media platforms filled with religious commentary, as people noted the symbolism of a cross — a symbol of sacrifice and redemption — physically deflecting death. “God’s hand guided that bullet,” wrote one user, while others compared it to rare stories of phones or belt buckles stopping rounds in previous shootings. The symbolism here, though, has struck far deeper.
A Colorado man survives after a bullet aimed at his chest hits his silver cross necklace instead. The odds of this happening are almost impossible. pic.twitter.com/faithwins— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) September 2023
Even skeptics admit the circumstances are extraordinary. A ballistics expert told The Washington Post that the chances of a thin piece of jewelry perfectly catching and diverting a bullet are “astronomically low,” especially at such close range. The caliber of the weapon has not yet been disclosed, but investigators believe the reduced speed of the bullet after initial impact may have allowed the necklace to alter its trajectory.
The victim has chosen not to speak publicly yet but is said to be recovering with family. Police confirmed he is cooperating with detectives and has expressed gratitude for surviving what could have been a fatal attack. Officers say he still carries the broken necklace in his pocket, refusing to let it out of sight. “It’s more than evidence to him,” one detective told reporters. “It’s a lifeline.”
“Faith, luck, or both? A man survives a gunshot to the chest after his cross necklace diverts the bullet. Police call it nothing short of miraculous.” pic.twitter.com/crossmiracle— CNN (@CNN) September 2023
For the small community where this happened, the incident has become a story of survival that will likely be retold for years. While detectives continue their search for the gunman, residents are left shaken by the violence but comforted by the inexplicable miracle that kept a young man alive. As one officer quietly summed it up: “He should be dead. But he isn’t. That cross changed everything.”
