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The Face of Istanbul Survival – I just let him shoot me!
An American says he survived the shooting at an Istanbul nightclub on New Year’s Eve that killed 39 by pretending to be dead as the gunman stood over him and shot him.
Jake Raak, a 35-year-old from Delaware who was celebrating the new year with nine friends at the Reina nightclub in Istanbul’s Ortakoy district, told NBC News that at first he brushed off reports of a shooter in the building.
“Somebody said that there were shots fired and I initially did not believe it until I saw the gunman and he started shooting up the whole place,” he said.
Raak described laying on the floor and pretending to be dead, with his head under a bench and his legs sticking out. The gunman shot Raak in the hip. He said he struggled not to flinch or scream in hopes that the gunman would move on.
“He was walking on the bench above my head when my head was underneath,” Raak said. “When he shot me, I didn’t move. I just let him shoot me.”
The bullet entered his hip and traveled down to his knee, where it was lodged. However, Raak is in stable condition and will be traveling back to the United States this week.
Despite the harrowing experience, Raak knows it could have been much worse.
“I was probably the luckiest in the whole thing, I do find myself very fortunate,” he said. “I was with nine people — seven of us were shot.”
Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.
She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others
