IKEA bookcase shields man from stray bullet

By Ottilie Von Henning

A man's life was saved when a stray bullet shot through his window - by an IKEA bookcase.

Daniel, 41, who wishes to keep his surname private, said the bullet was 'close' to hitting him in the head before it got lodged in Swedish-made furniture.

He said he was scrolling on social media late in the evening when he suddenly heard a loud pop.

Glass immediately shattered everywhere and Daniel quickly jumped up to investigate.

It had shot through the study window before getting lodged in the bookcase.

He later added: "I just feel very, very lucky. That IKEA bookcase saved my family life."

Daniel said as soon as he realized it was a bullet he got down on the floor to take cover.

He crawled to the next room to check on his wife and four-year-old daughter.

And once he had made sure they were safe, Daniel dialled 911.

Once on the scene, the police determined that the stray bullet had come from a separate incident two blocks away.

Daniel, a podcaster and card artist based in Santa Ana, California, said: "When it initially happened, I wasn’t in shock.

"I was more in emergency mode and I just wanted to protect my family.

"It’s very scary to think what could have happened."

After the initial shot, it took police 20 minutes to arrive on scene, during which time Daniel was left to protect his family alone.

He said: "I crawled through the broken glass on the floor keeping my head down to get to my wife and daughter in the next room.

"Luckily neither were hurt, but I immediately took them off the bed and told them to get down because someone shot at us.

"At that point, I didn’t know if someone was trying to kill me or if it was a drive by or if someone was breaking into my house.

"So, I went back into the study and turned off my lamp so no one could see inside and got my phone to call 911.

"I also pulled my own gun out for protection in case someone tried to enter the house."

The police ultimately arrived and were able to decipher what had happened on the scene.

Daniel said: "As far as I know there is an open investigation but the police haven’t contacted me since the event.

"My family is also pretty scared after the fact but I tried to shield my wife from the reality of the situation by playing it off so she doesn’t worry.

"An event like this really puts things into perspective for me that life is precious and anything can happen at any time."

The Santa Ana police department have been reached out to for comment.