A man is lucky to be alive after he was caught in the middle of an active scene on Saturday afternoon, that led to a stray bullet hitting his windshield.New North End resident Colin Burch was driving along Manhattan Drive when he got stuck in traffic, as Burlington Police responded to a mental health call.Police found 20-year-old David Johnson in the Old North End neighborhood with a large kitchen knife. According to police, the four-to-five minute encounter ended with Johnson advancing toward the two officers with the knife. One officer used their taser and the other, Sgt. Simon Bombard, shot Johnson in the leg.Another bullet Sgt. Bombard fired landed just inches from Burch’s head. Burch received minor injuries from broken glass.”Heard a lot of like, the person in the car saying they almost shot him,” a neighbor on Manhattan Drive said.”I’m very lucky to be alive, as is the man who called 911 for himself because he was in crisis,” Burch told NBC5 in a statement on Friday.This isn’t the first bystander impacted by a stray bullet this summer.David Berezniak, a former Burlington City Councilor, was hit with debris when a stray bullet hit his home back in June.”It felt like somebody throw a rock at my head,” Berezniak told reporters. “This doesn’t happen every day.”We reached out to the Burlington Police Department and the Mayor’s office for comment but have not heard back. Vermont State Police, who are investigating this incident, said their investigation is active and ongoing.
A man is lucky to be alive after he was caught in the middle of an active scene on Saturday afternoon, that led to a stray bullet hitting his windshield.
New North End resident Colin Burch was driving along Manhattan Drive when he got stuck in traffic, as Burlington Police responded to a mental health call.
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Police found 20-year-old David Johnson in the Old North End neighborhood with a large kitchen knife. According to police, the four-to-five minute encounter ended with Johnson advancing toward the two officers with the knife. One officer used their taser and the other, Sgt. Simon Bombard, shot Johnson in the leg.
Another bullet Sgt. Bombard fired landed just inches from Burch’s head. Burch received minor injuries from broken glass.
“Heard a lot of like, the person in the car saying they almost shot him,” a neighbor on Manhattan Drive said.
“I’m very lucky to be alive, as is the man who called 911 for himself because he was in crisis,” Burch told NBC5 in a statement on Friday.
This isn’t the first bystander impacted by a stray bullet this summer.
David Berezniak, a former Burlington City Councilor, was hit with debris when a stray bullet hit his home back in June.
“It felt like somebody throw a rock at my head,” Berezniak told reporters. “This doesn’t happen every day.”
We reached out to the Burlington Police Department and the Mayor’s office for comment but have not heard back. Vermont State Police, who are investigating this incident, said their investigation is active and ongoing.
