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Gainesville police chief credits ‘God’s hand’ after bullet struck officer's radio just below throat during deadly standoff
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Gainesville Police block Briarwood Drive Friday, March 20, 2026, as investigation continues at a home on the road where Gainesville Police exchanged gunfire with Dakota Levi Simmons, 24, of Gainesville. A Gainesville police officer survived a gunshot to the upper chest when a bullet struck his radio microphone and was stopped by his ballistic vest when the barricaded gunman was fatally shot by law enforcement. - photo by Scott Rogers
A Gainesville police officer narrowly survived a gunshot to the upper chest late Thursday night when a bullet struck his radio microphone and was stopped by his ballistic vest during a six-hour standoff that ended when the barricaded gunman was fatally shot by law enforcement.