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Neighbor Wounded In Douglas County Shooting Still Has Bullet In Shoulder

By Jeff Todd

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (CBS4) - Farook Patail still has a bullet lodged in his shoulder. He's an innocent neighbor who was shot during the lengthy incident at the Copper Canyon Apartment Complex on Sunday morning.

"When I was shot I was thinking about my wife and I felt a little depressed and sorrow, sorry why it happened," Patail said.

Patail and his wife live on the second floor directly across from where the shooting occurred.

COPPER CANYON CIVILIAN 5
(credit: CBS4)

Patail said he would wake up and keep an eye on the activity as the standoff continued.

He was lying in bed when a bullet came through his window and hit him in the shoulder.

Bullets also shattered his sliding glass door.

COPPER CANYON CIVILIAN 4
(credit: CBS4)

After being shot, Patail called 911. The operator told him to hide in his kitchen behind large appliances.

He had to wait more than an hour before the shooting was resolved and it was safe for first responders to make it to his apartment.

"It's close to the joint so when they remove it I can get more complicated," he said about the bullet in his left shoulder.

COPPER CANYON CIVILIAN 3
(credit: CBS4)

"Compared to this officer who was dead, this is nothing. But, I feel very sorry for him and his family," said Patail.

Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.

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