TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A man shot in Pasco County while riding a motorcycle lived to tell the tale.
He’s sharing his story with News Channel 8, as the unidentified suspect remains at large.
It was in the early morning hours of June 9 when Nolan, who we are not identifying by his last name because he is concerned for his family’s safety, said he went out for a ride on his friend’s motorcycle in Trinity.
That’s when he said he turned a corner and the light bar of a pickup truck blinded him.
“It was bright enough, so I couldn’t see the road in front of me anymore,” Nolan said.
He remained calm and just kept going.
“The truck was coming towards me, and as I passed I felt something hit me,” Nolan said.
As someone who has been riding motorcycles for over two decades, Nolan didn’t think much of it.
“I figured the truck kicked something up and it hit me,” he said.
But, when he got home, Nolan said he had a hard time lifting his right arm, so he asked his son for help.
“When we went in the garage and turned the light on, his eyes got real big and he said, ‘hey dad you’re bleeding,'” Nolan said.
That’s when he found a gunshot wound in his chest and his shirt soaked in blood.
“It was about maybe 15 minutes later, we realized there was an exit hole as well,” he recalled. “Usually I say, ‘I’ve been through worse, but yeah I think I can’t say that in this situation.”
Nolan said he just doesn’t understand why.
“I didn’t cut anybody off,” he said. “There was nobody on the road to cut off.”
And if anyone had a problem with him?
“I was on a friend’s bike,” Nolan said. “I was covered from head to toe, pants, shoes, helmet, jacket, there’s no way they could’ve known it was me.”
Nolan said he has a long road of recovery ahead and the negative comments on the internet are not helping.
“Some crazy comments too,” he said. “Because I’m from New York I deserved it, because I ride a crotch rocket, I deserved to be shot.”
“I’d be lying to you if I said they didn’t bother me,” he said. “Absolutely they bothered me.”
His message to the shooter?
“They’re on a clock one way or another,” Nolan said. “They’re going to get found.”
“Hopefully the police find him first, because this is a very big community, the motorcycle world,” he said. “A lot of people take what happened to me very seriously, especially if he’s just targeting people on two wheels.”
“Who is to say if the next person doesn’t survive?” Nolan said. “So yeah, he’s on borrowed time.”
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is investigation.
“Pasco Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a shooting that occurred on June 9, around 3:30 a.m. in the Perrine Ranch Rd. and Grand Blvd. area in Trinity,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“An adult man on a motorcycle was shot by an unknown suspect while driving in this area. The adult man was transported to a hospital and has non-life threatening injuries. This appears to be an isolated incident and there is no known threat to the public. The investigation is ongoing and no additional information is available at this time.”
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