A St. Louis man thought he’d been struck by a firework when he arrived at an airport parking lot near St. Louis in St. Anne, Missouri only to discover he’d been grazed by a bullet.
David Leininger was picking up his car at the parking lot after arriving at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on New Year’s Eve after a trip to Phoenix.
It was just after midnight when he heard fireworks and then immediately felt something hit his leg.
“It really hurt,” he said. “Kind of felt like I got hit in the shin with a hammer.”
Thinking it was only a firework, he left to pick up his wife and baby who were waiting for him at the airport and went home without filing a report.
The next morning, he found a hole on the outside of his suitcase and noticed a big dent on his hair dryer.
He also found what appeared to be a shotgun slug.
“I mean I was super lucky,” he said. “Because an inch over or slightly a different direction it goes through my leg.”
Now realizing the severity of the incident, Leininger plans to file a police report with St. Anne Police.
“I don’t anticipate anything coming out of it,” he said. “I’m still shocked it really happened but I’m like, if it helps somebody I don’t need anything from it, I’d like whoever shot it to never do that again.”
