I SURVIVED: I Walked Through A Field With My Back Broken

Summary

Cold Case Files: "I SURVIVED: I Walked Through A Field With My Back Broken"

Host: Paula Barros
Release Date: April 5, 2025
Description: An in-depth exploration of some of the most harrowing cold cases, featuring personal accounts from survivors and insights into the relentless pursuit of justice by investigators.

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Introduction

In this gripping episode of Cold Case Files, host Paula Barros delves into the terrifying ordeals of individuals who faced unimaginable horrors yet emerged as survivors. Through firsthand accounts and detailed narratives, the episode highlights the resilience of the human spirit and the advancements in forensic technology that have brought closure to cases once deemed unsolvable.

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Brandy’s Harrowing Ordeal in Aurora, Colorado

Timestamp: 01:59 - 12:06

Setting: October 1995, Aurora, Colorado
Victim: Brandy, 16-year-old high school junior
Survivor: Jeff, Brandy’s deaf friend

Story Overview:

Brandy recounts a night that forever changed her life. As a junior in high school, she befriended Jeff, a deaf classmate, and they became close friends despite the communication barriers, primarily interacting through writing.

Key Events:

1. The Abduction:

   • Timestamp: 02:55 - 04:11
   • While hanging out at Brandy’s house late at night, two intoxicated men approached them. Brandy describes the assailants: one tall and muscular, approximately 6'2", and another shorter with long, curly hair.
   • Brandy: "Once he says stop there, don't move. I'm like okay, this is execution..." (02:09)

2. In the Trunk:

   • The gunmen forced Brandy and Jeff into the trunk, a moment Brandy believes sealed their fate.
   • Brandy: "I walked through a field with my back broken, with a gun to my head." (01:59)

3. Attempted Escape and Assault:

   • Jeff managed to open the trunk from the inside, creating chaos. However, the situation escalated as Brandy and Jeff were pulled out.
   • Brandy endured brutal sexual assaults, describing her internal struggle: "I could either get raped and live or get raped and die. And I wanted to live." (05:22)

4. The Crash:

   • The assailants lost control of the vehicle, leading to a severe crash.
   • Brandy: "I just knew that we hit something, and I briefly remember the car rolling." (06:54)

5. Rescue and Recovery:

   • A passerby, Jeff’s father, arrived just in time. Brandy was in critical condition, with her back fractured in eight places and her face badly cut.
   • The attackers were apprehended within 48 hours and sentenced to 44 years in prison.
   • Brandy: "I survived because I made the choice to be raped and live rather than be raped and die." (11:28)

Notable Quotes:

• Brandy: "If I make it out of this life, I have to remember every detail about these men." (02:17)
• Brandy: "I don't know what told me to do that, but it got them caught the very next day." (11:28)

Insights:

Brandy's story underscores the importance of mental fortitude and the crucial role that swift investigative actions and advancements in forensic technology play in solving cold cases. Her determination to recall every detail was instrumental in bringing her assailants to justice.

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The Montreal Cafeteria Shooting: A Tragic Loss

Timestamp: 13:59 - 24:44

Setting: September 2006, Montreal, Canada
Victims: James (17) and Anastasia D'Souza
Perpetrator: Kim Vere Gill, 25-year-old male

Story Overview:

James and Anastasia were enjoying lunch in their college cafeteria when a gunman entered, dramatically altering their lives. The episode details the chaos that ensued and the tragic loss that followed.

Key Events:

1. The Attack:

   • Timestamp: 14:12 - 16:36
   • A gunman, describing himself and outfitted with multiple firearms, instilled fear as he began indiscriminately shooting students.
   • Gunman: "Everybody in the cafeteria didn't react to it because... a lot of people thought it was fake..." (14:35)

2. Immediate Aftermath:

   • Anastasia was shot near her abdomen and eventually lost consciousness.
   • Gunman: "I was trying to convince him, you know, there's a better way out." (17:22)

3. Police Response:

   • Police officers were positioned on a mezzanine floor but hesitated to intervene directly due to the proximity of hostages.
   • The gunman, feeling cornered, escalated his aggression towards the officers before ultimately taking his own life.
   • Gunman: "No matter what was going to happen today, that he was going to die." (17:22)

4. Casualties and Recognition:

   • Nineteen students were injured, and Anastasia tragically succumbed to her wounds.
   • In 2008, James was awarded the Canadian Star of Courage for his bravery during the incident.
   • Gunman: "I survived from just instinct, just basically instinct..." (24:44)

Notable Quotes:

• Gunman: "How's your friend doing?" (21:18)
• James: "I survived because of the sheer will to live." (25:02)

Insights:

This heartbreaking account highlights the unpredictability of such violent events and the profound impact they have on victims and witnesses. James's valor and subsequent recognition serve as a testament to human courage in the face of terror.

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Steve’s Survival Against the Odds in Texas

Timestamp: 26:26 - 35:52

Setting: October 2000, Fredericksburg, Texas
Victim: Steve, bow hunter

Story Overview:

Steve's adventure turned nightmare when a hunting accident left him with severely broken legs. Stranded in a remote area, Steve's survival instincts and determination were put to the ultimate test.

Key Events:

1. The Accident:

   • Timestamp: 26:35 - 27:55
   • While bow hunting, Steve's unstable stance led to a fall, resulting in both legs being crushed and rendered immobile.
   • Jeff (narrator): "When I landed, all I heard was a loud crack." (27:55)

2. Struggle for Survival:

   • Without a working cell phone and with no immediate help, Steve realized he needed to act swiftly to avoid fatal complications like blood clots.
   • Jeff: "I had a cell phone with me. I tried to use it right after I fell and realized there was no signal." (28:50)

3. Endurance Through Pain:

   • Battling excruciating pain and the hostile environment, Steve crawled through thorny cactus and over boulders, managing to consume prickly pears for sustenance.
   • Jeff: "I survived because of just the sheer will to live." (35:52)

4. Final Rescue:

   • After hours of relentless effort, Steve reached his truck, signaling for help by sounding the horn. A neighbor's alert led to his rescue.
   • Jeff: "I managed to go back up this creek bed through the path of all these rocks and cactus." (31:20)

5. Recovery:

   • Steve underwent multiple surgeries and spent two years confined to a wheelchair. Remarkably, after four years of rehabilitation, he regained the ability to walk.
   • Jeff: "After four years of rehabilitation and many surgeries, I'm able to walk again. That in itself is a miracle to me." (35:52)

Notable Quotes:

• Steve: "I walked through a field with my back broken, with a gun to my head." (01:59)
• Jeff: "I survived because of just the sheer will to live." (35:52)

Insights:

Steve’s story is a powerful illustration of human resilience and the instinctual drive to survive against overwhelming odds. His unwavering determination and strategic actions were pivotal in his survival, offering inspiration to listeners facing their own battles.

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Conclusion

This episode of Cold Case Files sheds light on the indomitable human spirit through the harrowing survival stories of Brandy, James, Anastasia, and Steve. Each narrative not only underscores the personal strength required to overcome traumatic experiences but also highlights the critical importance of timely intervention and advancements in investigative techniques. The survivors' accounts serve as poignant reminders of the fragility of life and the profound impact of perseverance and hope in the darkest of times.

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Notable Moments Recap:

• Brandy’s Survival: Her meticulous recollection led to the swift capture of her assailants. (11:28)
• James’s Bravery: Awarded the Canadian Star of Courage for his actions during the Montreal shooting. (24:44)
• Steve’s Resilience: Overcoming severe physical injuries through sheer determination and willpower. (35:52)

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Final Thoughts:

Cold Case Files continues to honor the stories of those who have endured unimaginable hardships. By bringing these narratives to light, the series not only seeks justice for the victims but also provides hope and inspiration to listeners everywhere.

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Note: All quotes are attributed with their respective timestamps for reference.

Transcript

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[Marissa Pinson]

On hi I Survived listeners. I'm Marissa Pinson and if you're enjoying this show, I just want to remind you that episodes of I Survived as well as the AE Classic Podcast, Cold Case Files, City Confidential and American justice are all available ad free on the new A and E Crime and Investigation channel on Apple Podcasts and Apple plus for just $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. And now onto the show. This episode contains subject matter that may be disturbing to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

[Brandy]

I walked through a field with my back broken, with a gun to my head.

[Marissa Pinson]

Real people.

[Jeff]

Both legs were just basically a sack full of broken bones who faced death.

[Gunman]

Once he says stop there, don't move. I'm like okay, this is execution and.

[Marissa Pinson]

Live to tell how I remember thinking.

[Brandy]

If I make it out of this life, I have to remember every detail about these men.

[Marissa Pinson]

This is I survived. It's October 1995 in Aurora, Colorado. 16 year old brandy is a junior in high school.

[Brandy]

I met a kid at school that was deaf, that was in my chemistry class. He was my chemistry partner and so that's how we became friends. I did not know sign language, but I You know, befriended him anyway, and he seemed really cool, and so I wanted to get to know him better. We communicated by writing back and forth.

[Marissa Pinson]

Brandy invited Jeff over to her home one evening.

[Brandy]

He was over at my house, and we just kind of hung out all night, wrote back and forth. Took a really long time to have conversations with him. We went to his car to go smoke a cigarette. And I remember looking at the clock. It was 1:20 in the morning. We heard two guys kind of being loud. They seemed drunk. I had opened the car door, and because I thought that I knew them, they asked us what we were doing. And I said, oh, we're just hanging out. One of them was very tall, very big, big build. I think he's about 6, 6 foot 2. And the other guy, he had. He was shorter and stocky and had kind of long, curly hair. The next thing I knew, there was a gun in my face. And they told us both to get in the trunk. And at that point, I was begging and pleading with them and telling them that my friend was deaf and to please not hurt him because he couldn't hear what they were saying. At that point, they put both of us in the trunk of the car, and they started driving. I've always heard that if they get you to that second destination, you're dead. So that's what I was thinking when they put us in the trunk of the car, that we just sealed our fate by doing what they asked us to do.

[Marissa Pinson]

There was a light on inside the trunk, so Jeff found a latch to open it.

[Brandy]

He figured out how to open the trunk from the inside, but he was making all kinds of noise, and I thought that they were gonna shoot the backseat and kill us. We actually had the paper that we were writing on, so I think I slapped his hand and wrote down, told him, stop. You're making a lot of noise. So we probably drove about 30 minutes, and the next thing I know, the trunk's open and we are in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunman ordered Brandy and Jeff out of the trunk.

[Brandy]

They were so drunk, I don't even think they knew I was a girl until I got out of the trunk. I was wearing a sweatshirt and baggy pants. One of them looked at me and they said, oh, you're a chick. Get in the backseat.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunman dragged Jeff behind the car.

[Brandy]

One of the guys was very aggressive and screaming at me and telling me to just sit in the back seat. So I just sat there, looked in the rearview mirror, and I could See, they had my friend back there, and I heard two gunshots. I wouldn't turn around because I thought if I was a witness to murder, then they would kill me. So I just sat there, and I was kind of freaking out, thinking he was dead.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunman got in the car and drove away with Brandi in the backseat.

[Brandy]

I remember them telling me that they did not shoot my friend. They said that they were trying to scare him. So they shot the gun off twice. But I didn't believe that. I was crying and just begging them to please let me go. They drove for about 10 minutes, and then they stopped the car, and they said, you want us to let you go? And I said, please, just let me go. And they turned off the ignition. And I knew at that point what they were going to do to me. I knew that they were going to both rape me. They got out of the car, and they got me out of the back seat. And the first guy, he actually raped me first in the front seat. And I kept saying no, and I kept telling him to stop, and he wouldn't stop. And I didn't think about kicking him. I didn't think about. I didn't think about them beating me up. I thought about being shot in the head. While all this was happening to me, I remember thinking, if I make it out of this lot, I have to remember every detail about these men. Then the other guy took me to the backseat. When he raped me in the backseat, he had his shirt over his face and told me not to look at him. And he was very aggressive. At that point, I decided that I could either get raped and live or get raped and die. And I wanted to live. He raped me for about a good 30 minutes. And while he was raping me, the first guy got in the front seat and started driving the car.

[Marissa Pinson]

The driver sped along a country road before crashing into a power pole.

[Brandy]

I just knew that we hit something, and I briefly remember the car rolling.

[Marissa Pinson]

The impact threw Brandi from the car into a field.

[Brandy]

I'm picking myself up off the ground with blood all over my face. I was in complete shock, and I just knew that I was probably hurt pretty bad.

[Marissa Pinson]

Brandi's back had been fractured in eight places, and her face was badly cut.

[Brandy]

So when I got up, I kind of looked around, and I thought, okay, well, maybe this is my chance to run. Then the next thing I know, they're right behind me, and like, nope, you're coming with us.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunman had survived the crash unhurt.

[Brandy]

One of them had A bloody nose. But besides that, they were fine from the accident because they were so drunk. And since I was sober, everything in my body was tensed up. And so I was injured really bad. And I was walking like that, and that's how much adrenaline was rushing through me. I didn't feel a thing. And I walked through a field with my back broken, with a gun to my head. And we approached a road, and I saw lights from a car. This car stopped, and a man got out, and he looked at me and saw who I was with. And he asked me. He said, are you Brandy? And I said, yes. And he said, get in the car. I'm gonna get you some help.

[Marissa Pinson]

The man was Jeff's father. Jeff escaped unharmed from the gunman and had run to a nearby farmhouse. He wrote what had happened, and the occupants called Jeff's father.

[Brandy]

He was going to pick up Jeff. And he saw me first. He saw me and two men first. When I got into the car, I was just ecstatic. I thought, okay, I'm gonna live. I'm getting out of this. I slid into the passenger seat, and right behind me, one of the men slid in the back seat. And the guy with the gun went to the driver's side and told Jeff's dad that he was not taking me anywhere. They threw his cell phone on the street, crushed it, and left him on the side of the road. At that point, all I could think and all I could actually envision and see in my head was myself on my knees in this field, being shot in the back of the head with my brains all over the field. We drove for about five or 10 minutes on the dirt road. I didn't want to ask them where we were going because I was afraid they were going to tell me they were going to shoot me in the head and leave me there. I finally asked them once we approached the freeway. I said, where are you taking me? And they said, we're going to take you to the hospital. And we drove for about 10 or 20 minutes. And the hospital was probably maybe 100 yards away. I could see it. And I remember thanking them and just thanking them for sparing my life. The driver said to me, get out of the car. Get yourself some help.

[Marissa Pinson]

It was four hours since Brandy had been abducted.

[Brandy]

The adrenaline was completely leaving my body, and I was in so much pain that I could barely walk. So I remember limping across the street to a gas station, and I saw myself for just a second in the reflection of the glass, and I didn't even recognize who I was. And I remember the attendant looked at me and he said, do you need me to call an ambulance? He put me on the phone with 911. They made me talk to them and tell the police got there my mom shows up at the hospital and they sat my mom down and they told her what was happening. And I just remember when my mom came back to see me, she I looked at her and she was standing up against a wall and I just watched her go weak in the knees and slide down the wall. She couldn't even stand up.

[Marissa Pinson]

Brandi was in the hospital for seven days.

[Brandy]

They did all of the CAT scans and the MRIs and they figured out my back was fractured in eight places. I had to get 22 stitches in my face. It was the most excruciating pain I've ever been through in my entire life.

[Marissa Pinson]

Brandi was able to give a full description of her attackers to the police. The two men were arrested within 48 hours of Brandi's admission to the hospital.

[Brandy]

And they were sentenced to 44 years in prison. And that was in August of 1995. I survived because I made the choice to be raped and live rather to be raped and die. And I remembered every detail. I remember thinking that if I'm going to make it out of this alive, I have to remember every detail. If they're going to catch them, I have to remember everything about what happened tonight. I don't know what told me to do that, but it got them caught the very next day. And I guess we got justice.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Marissa Pinson]

It's September 2006 in Montreal, Canada. 17 year old student James is with his friend Anastasia in a college cafeteria. It was lunchtime and the cafeteria was full of students.

[Gunman]

We just finished eating our lunch sitting next to the table near the entrance and this guy came in. He was tall. He was very, very tall. He was I would say 6, 3. His haircut was shaved on the side with a ponytail in the back. He was wearing what I could remember, a long black trench coat.

[Marissa Pinson]

The man was carrying a bag and three guns.

[Gunman]

Everybody in the cafeteria didn't react to it because, you know, a lot of people thought it was fake, plastic or, you know, it was a prank. So I didn't think of anything. Even though he had his. I thought it was plastic or fake or you know, a prank. He dropped his bag and his weapons on the floor. That sound, that distinctive sound of the tile and the metal, I knew right away that it was, it wasn't fake gun, that that was a real gun.

[Marissa Pinson]

James and Anastasia were sitting a few feet away from the gunman.

[Gunman]

So I dove to my left just in case, you know, he was going to shoot in my direction.

[Marissa Pinson]

Anastasia stood up to see why James had dropped to the floor.

[Gunman]

I guess with the gunman's reaction, you know, he got startled and you know, his first decision was first reaction was to shoot towards that direction, which was unfortunately Anastasia and she got hit. Once he took that first shot, most of the people around where I was sitting realized that it was real and you know, dove on the floor and flip the tables over.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunman was between James and the nearest exit. When the gunman began firing at other students, James pulled Anastasia into a corner.

[Gunman]

When I saw she got shot near her abdomen and I'm like, okay, this is real. This is going down. She eventually went out of consciousness and you know, she just stopped. She stopped going into shock and she just sort of like relaxed.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunman was targeting and shooting students with a semi automatic rifle.

[Gunman]

I'm like, okay, well I'm screwed. I can't do anything. There was just basically a wall surrounding us and he was in front of us. So if he would decide to leave, we would get shot. And I still try to talk to him, like communicate with me, continue like talking or answering me, which he was like humming, you know, moaning a bit. At this point, the gunman was sort of zooming in his semi automatic, his weapon and shooting at specific people, you would say. And it made. The sounds were pretty horrible. There were a lot of yelling.

[Marissa Pinson]

20 students were shot and wounded.

[Gunman]

There was police officers around the cafeteria. They were on the third floor, which from the third floor of our school you could see the cafeteria really, really well.

[Marissa Pinson]

Police officers were on a mezzanine floor overlooking the cafeteria. They did not shoot because students were in the way.

[Gunman]

Now at this point, the gunman knew that he was surrounded by police officers. He sort of just started going all out against the police, starting shooting, spraying, scoping everything possible at the police, which was good for a lot of the students rest in the cafeteria that were able to sort of leave. They were able to sort of like crawl or run or sprint down the stairs.

[Marissa Pinson]

James and Anastasia were trapped in a corner behind the gunman.

[Gunman]

He looked at me and in my mind I'm like, okay, this is not a good sign. He looked at me and he said, you over there. And then I'm like, yes, you know, I'll calm. I try to be as calm as possible, you know, try to disagree with him. He says, get up here. I'm like, sure. My exact words were, sure, whatever you want, no problem. He was pointing the gun towards me. He says, get up in front of me. Don't look at me. Keep your back facing towards me. Walk a bit ahead of me. I would say roughly, I was maybe ahead in front of him, maybe meter, but everything was quiet. So once he says, stop there, don't move. I'm like, okay, this is execution. And for me it just like time was so slow. Like I was thinking, hurry up, you know, get this overdone. If you're gonna shoot me, shoot me out. I don't want to live this any longer. I was scared, my knees were shaking, but I tried to hide it as good as possible. He started shooting, but not towards me. He was shooting at the police officers, again, the police officers were telling him to, you know, stop shooting, put his gun down. The gunman just replied, saying, you pigs, come out. He was yelling just basically that a lot of, you know, you pigs. A lot of the f words.

[Marissa Pinson]

With James directly in front of him, the gunman could not see the officers clearly.

[Gunman]

He kept asking me, he said, where are the police officers? And I try to give him a blunt answer, you know, not a good one or neither a bad one. Not to get him angry or. Or give him too much information that he would be able to take out a police officer, you know. So I sort of said, you know what? I can't really see them from where I'm at. If you really want, I could sort of move a bit more to this side, and I probably could see them, you know, and I'll tell you where they are. He was yelling at me, saying, don't move, don't move. So I'm like. I used to say, okay, I'm gonna stay over here. I won't move. Kept shooting, stopping, and, you know, reloading. And then out of nowhere, once he was reloading, he told me that no matter what was going to happen today, that he was going to die. So I was trying to convince him, you know, there's a better way out. What I was saying was like, you know, you don't have to do this. There's a much better way of ending all this, you know, you don't have to kill yourself. Just giggled a little giggle. And he says, no, today, no matter what, I'm dying. He sort of kept looking back, looked back at Anastasia, you know, looked at me, looked at her, looked at me, continued shooting. And he stopped at one point, and he looked at me and he says, how's your friend doing? I sort of gave the most basic answer to sort of, I don't know, question him. At the same time, I said, you know, listen, I know she's not doing very well. If you want, I'll take her outside. I promise you. I told him, I promised you so many times. I swear to God, I promise you that I'll come back to continue helping you, to tell you where the police are. Didn't say anything, turned his head towards her, walked. At this point, it was dead quiet. No police officers were talking, no stood on stone, nothing. Walked step by step. His footstep, his boots, his heavy boots hitting that tire. Boom, boom. In my mind, if I was Anastasia, I would be freaking out now. You know, she didn't move. She didn't do Anything. He walked right, right, right next to her, say, a foot away, pointed a semi automatic right at her and unleashed all 12 bullets on her. Walked back to me. And his exact words were, well, now you have nothing to worry about. I wanted to break down. I wanted to cry and yell and attack him or whatever. He wanted to do anything for what he did. But I stopped myself saying, listen, that's what he wants you. He did that just for you to react in a way. So I didn't say anything.

[Marissa Pinson]

Police officers positioned on a mezzanine floor didn't shoot because James was between them and the gunman.

[Gunman]

I used to glance around to see if there was any students left in the cafeteria. And, you know, I used to see some blood on the floor, a puddle or like a little blood smear on the wall.

[Marissa Pinson]

Most of the students had managed to escape down some stairs.

[Gunman]

There wasn't many students left. There was, I would say, at least a dozen or maybe even less 8.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunman suddenly stopped shooting at the police and threw his bag of ammunition to James.

[Gunman]

And I caught it, but it was really heavy. So I dropped it on the floor and I took it by the strap. I was holding it like that. And he goes, I want you to walk backwards because I want you to walk towards the other exit. I'm like, okay. So I started walking. As soon as he said that, he yelled at me, stop. Wait for me. And he goes, I don't want you to drag it. I want you to carry it. I'm like, it's heavy. I go, it's heavy. He went slowly towards where Anastasia was. And I thought it was, you know, he was going to do something again to Anastasia. In my mind, I'm like, why? And there was this student that took my position from before. And sitting right beside her, he pointed his semi automatic right at the kid's face, point blank. And he asked the kid if he wanted to die that day. And the kid was yelling in fear, no, no, no, no. Leave me alone. Everybody, I think, in the cafeteria, like, didn't say a word because it was horrible. I didn't want to see more blood and guts and all that stuff. So I don't know why. I just sort of yelled in anger, saying, you know, leave him alone. Why? What did he do? You don't need to shoot him or anything. Just leave him alone. The gunman giggled a little bit. He told the student, okay, get up with me. So the student got up with me.

[Marissa Pinson]

Armed police officers were positioned on a mezzanine floor above the cafeteria using James and the student as human shields. The gunman ordered them to walk with him towards an exit.

[Gunman]

He got right beside us, I would say a foot from me and a foot from him. So he smacked right in the middle of us. He had his at this time, his handgun on him. We took I would say five steps, no more than that. And he fell on the floor. He was sort of kneeling down, blood coming out of his arm.

[Marissa Pinson]

The gunman had been shot in the arm by a police officer.

[Gunman]

I'm like, what happened? I didn't hear a shot, I didn't hear anything. How's he leading like this. But then he was yelling, he was yelling a lot and angry and mumbling a lot of things that I couldn't understand. And I was actually scared. I'm like, okay, great, they missed. Now he's gonna kill out of. Because he was angry and furious. He's gonna kill me and the kid. He took out his handgun and then I'm like, okay, it's over. He put the gun underneath his chin, fired the gunman.

[Marissa Pinson]

25 year old Kim Vere Gill had killed himself.

[Gunman]

Once I knew he shot himself and I saw his eyes roll back and the little hole underneath his chin. I just ran out of there. Once the police took me in, I asked how long did it last? And the cop said 18 minutes. So I stopped him like, no, it's impossible. 18 minutes. It's been at least four hours. The cop sort of laughed. He's like, no, 18 minutes only. And he goes. As you could see, the SWAT only arrived. Now once I left and went home and spoke to everybody. We watched the news and then on TV there was rumors saying only one person. I was anxious to know if it was actually Anastasia or not. I went to the hospital and I couldn't find her anywhere. I got the bad news and that she passed away.

[Marissa Pinson]

Nineteen students were injured in the rampage and one Anastasia D'Souza died from gunshot wounds. In 2008, James was awarded the Canadian Star of Courage for bravery.

[Gunman]

I survived from just instinct, just basically instinct, like luck and instinct, you know, like there wasn't much that I could have done for my situation, you know, so it was a lot of instinct and luck.

[Marissa Pinson]

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[Marissa Pinson]

It'S October 2000 in Fredericksburg, Texas. Steve travels alone to a ranch where he has a license to bow hunt deer.

[Jeff]

In Texas there's a a bow hunting season and then there's a gun hunting season and we go out and use a bow and an arrow to bring down deer.

[Marissa Pinson]

At 6am Steve parked his truck at the top of a hill and walked a quarter of a mile to his hunting spot. He climbed up a tree to a wooden hunting stand.

[Jeff]

The tree actually grew at an angle out and over the dry creek bed and, and that's where I built my stand was in the fork of this tree.

[Marissa Pinson]

After two hours, Steve had not shot any deer.

[Jeff]

I was tired, it was cold and I decided to get out of the tree.

[Marissa Pinson]

About 8:30, Steve had nailed wooden spikes into the tree to use his steps.

[Jeff]

I started to climb down out of the tree and stepped on a branch instead of the spring spike that was in the tree before my step. When I put my weight on this branch, this small branch coming out of the tree, it didn't support me. The only thing I could do is grab a hold of the tree stand itself and then I swung out over the creek bed.

[Marissa Pinson]

Steve let go and dropped 12ft to the ground. He landed feet first onto boulders in the dry creek bed.

[Jeff]

When I landed, all I heard was a loud crack. The pain was horrific. It was just unbelievable. I looked at my legs and they were one was going this way, one was going the other way and I tried to pull my leg up to put weight on it to see if I could stand. All I felt was just like a crushing bone feel. It sounded like bones in a tin can. You might say they were just rattling around in the bottom of my coveralls. I unzipped my coveralls to examine my legs, and that's when I realized that the bone had not pierced the skin, but both legs were just basically a sack full of broken bones. I had a cell phone with me. I tried to use it right after I fell and realized there was no signal.

[Marissa Pinson]

Steve was bow hunting, so he didn't have a gun to fire to alert anyone in the area.

[Jeff]

I started to yell for help. My cries went unanswered. Behind me, there was another. There was another fence line, Another property where other people hunt. But this was during the week. This was Tuesday morning. Nobody was there. I was extremely scared at that point. Knowing a bit about first aid, I realized that the bone, if it shattered that bad and hadn't come through the skin, then there's a lot of particle of bone in the bloodway that could travel and cause a blood clot.

[Marissa Pinson]

A blood clot can take only minutes to travel to the brain and cause a stroke.

[Jeff]

I then realized that I had to get help as fast as possible.

[Marissa Pinson]

Steve was 200 yards from the boundary road that skirted the property.

[Jeff]

The owner of the property is supposed to travel the property line around 10:00. Somehow, some way, I had to get to this road by 10 o'clock. The quickest way was to go down through the bottom of this creek bed. The only way I could move my body was to use my elbow and dig into the ground and move my upper body inch by inch and then pull my legs toward my upper body. When I fell, I dropped into a large group of cactus. This cactus has an inch and a half thorn. I'm wearing an inch of clothing. My hands were just filled with cactus thorns. I had gloves on, but the gloves were no match for these thorns.

[Marissa Pinson]

Steve had to push cacti and boulders out of the way as he crawled across the creek bed. It took him an hour to drag himself 30 yards.

[Jeff]

I reached the bottom of the creek bed. Then I realized that I couldn't get through here. The boulders that are in this creek bed are too large for me to move. I'm able to move the smaller rocks. The big ones, I can't move. I'm thinking to myself, this is not good. I can't stay here. I have to get medical attention. I'm really in bad shape. I managed to go back up this creek bed through the path of all these rocks that I just went through in cactus.

[Marissa Pinson]

Steve dragged himself up a bank to a fence which led to the road.

[Jeff]

Across the fence line, about 400 yards away, there is a trailer house. And there are some people outside the trailer house shooting pistols. I could hear the shots.

[Marissa Pinson]

Steve called out, but nobody heard him.

[Jeff]

I kept going. My legs were getting so swollen that the coveralls were just tight around my legs. They were swelling, they were filling with blood. And I'm starting to drift in and out of consciousness.

[Marissa Pinson]

At 10:30am Steve reached the road a mile away from the ranch owner's house.

[Jeff]

Then I hear the truck fire up. I'm going, oh, great, he's coming. He's going to find me. I'm going to be able to get help. And then I hear the engine, the noise from the truck getting farther away. I realized that he's leaving the property. When I realized that he was driving away, my whole state of mind just fell. There's nothing that I can do. I have to get to my truck, make it to the truck. Somehow. Simon's help.

[Marissa Pinson]

He started to drag himself to his truck, which was still another 200 yards away. Up a hill.

[Jeff]

As I'm crawling, there's just so much mental stress, mental anguish. How am I going to survive? What am I going to do? I can't stay here. If I stay here overnight, I'm definitely going to not make it. My cell phone doesn't work. I try it several times going up the hill as I'm crawling. And the day is getting longer and hotter. I'm starting to perspire. I'm losing a lot of water, dehydrating bad. The only thing I can think of is the prickly pears on these cactus.

[Marissa Pinson]

Prickly pears grow on cactus and can be eaten once the spines and skins are removed.

[Jeff]

With the back of my glove, I brush off some of the stickers that are on this prickly pear and I use rocks to clean it with to scrape the skin off of it. I consumed several of these and I tend to get some energy from the. From these prickly pears. By the time I reached the truck, it had been some eight and a half hours of crawling from the time I fell. I leaned myself up on the rear tire and I realized now what I'm going to do. The bones are just so crushed. My knees are crushed. I can't get to the doorknob. I can't get to the handle. How am I going to open this thing? I take a stick that I find laying next to the truck, bite down on it and I get up on my busted knees and the pain is just so excruciating. I got the door open and I collapsed back to the ground and I'm just screaming in pain.

[Marissa Pinson]

He managed to pull himself up again and lean on the seat.

[Jeff]

I had this stick that I'd carried with me from the creek bed up to the vehicle. I used it to wedge in between the steering wheel and the horn button and I pull back on it.

[Marissa Pinson]

Steve sounded the horn for over an hour. The noise was heard by a neighbor who called the ranch owner.

[Jeff]

By the time Fred reached me, it's getting close to 9 o'clock in the evening. He's freaking out, you know, what happened to you? What's wrong? What did you do? I'm just so relieved. I'm next to passing out, but I have this great energy coming across me that, you know, from the relief that he showed up that, you know, finally I'm going to make it out of here. By the time Fred reached me, it's getting close to 9 o'clock in the evening. I explained to him what happened and that I really need some help. And please get the ambulance as fast as you can. The next thing I remember is lying in the hospital, the doctors going, I don't know if we're going to save your legs or not.

[Marissa Pinson]

After seven surgeries, amputation of Steve's legs was not necessary. He had nine more surgeries and was confined to a wheelchair for two years.

[Jeff]

Finally, after four years of rehabilitation and many surgeries, I'm able to walk again. That in itself is a miracle to me. I survived because of the just the sheer will to live.

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