Photo: E+ / Getty Images
A Black door-to-door salesman was called the N-word and survived a shooting by blocking the bullet with his tablet device, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Police confirmed the incident happened around 11:30 a.m. on February 8 in the 3100 block of Purington Avenue in an East Fort Worth neighborhood.
The victim, who worked for energy company Reliant for 10 years, said he was asking homeowners in the area about electric bills when he approached the suspect's home. He claims the man answered the door with a gun.
“He just came out and just straight pointed the barrel at me and then shot me and told me to get away from here n*****," the salesman told reporters. "I'm lucky it didn't hit me it hit the tablet."
The Black victim said the tablet that's usually slung to his side blocked the bullet and saved him from an injury. He even showed the shattered device to the journalist interviewing him.
“This is the one thing I always fear -- getting shot at the door and today it happened,” the Reliant employee remarked, adding he wants shooters to face consequences. “I got two daughters. I could’ve been in the hospital dead now."
Fort Worth Police Officer Buddy Calzada confirmed authorities responded to the residence the same day as the shooting, but nobody was home. Now there's an arrest warrant out for the suspect, who's facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and committing a hate crime. The shooter hasn't been identified.
“You’re looking at several different charges because you just cannot fire a weapon at a human for absolutely no reason, no threat involved,” Calzada said.
A Reliant spokesperson said they're cooperating with law enforcement on the case, as well.
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