Pen, Vest Stop Bullet, Save Officer
GARDEN GROVE — A pocket pen and a bullet-resistant vest saved a 28-year-old Garden Grove reserve police officer from serious injury after he was shot near the heart during a gang fight at the Strawberry Festival, police said Sunday.
Officer Gary Cunningham was trying to break up a melee involving some 50 members of two rival gangs at about 11 p.m. Saturday when a youth pulled a small-caliber handgun from his waistband and fired at Cunningham from five to 10 feet away, said Capt. Scott Jordan.
“The vest saved (Cunningham’s) life because the bullet hit right about where his heart is,” Jordan said. “If he didn’t have the vest on, the bullet could have killed him.”
The bullet was deflected off a Cross pen in Cunningham’s left breast pocket before lodging in the lining of the vest, which is made of Kevlar, a dense synthetic fiber.
Cunningham suffered a bruised chest but was otherwise unhurt, Jordan said.
The alleged gunman, 18-year-old Cesar Julio Luevano, of Santa Ana, was arrested a few blocks away.
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