One pop, and then a full spray. He started running sometime during the spray, but eventually, he was crawling.

The bullet entered his lower back and exited dangerously close to his spine. As crazy as it sounds, Alonzo Ruffin’s rationality would never let him say he was lucky to be alive.

“I don’t feel like luck is correct. The whole time, I never feared as though I may die,” he said. “[I] quickly determined that [the wound] was nonfatal. I guess I was more fortunate and glad the damage wasn’t any more severe.”

It is that calmness of the mind that may have saved his life.

When Ruffin, a junior at the University of Alabama in the management information system program, went out on Monday, July 16, he could have never imagined how the night would end.

“I was out with two of my friends,” he said. “We typically go out on Mondays because there aren’t as many people out, and it is more relaxing of an environment. I usually feel somewhat safe going out in Tuscaloosa, although there have been more shootings lately that have been kind of startling.”

That night, Ruffin and his friends decided to go to the bar 1831 in the Temerson Square area of downtown Tuscaloosa. That same night, so did 44-year-old Northport native Nathan Van Wilkins.

Early on the morning of Tuesday, July 17, surveillance cameras caught Wilkins walking up 23rd Street towards Copper Top bar with a military-style assault rifle. Minutes later, after waiting in front of the bar, Wilkins fired shots around the area.

“I remember hearing one shot, but it sounded almost like a firework going off,” Ruffin said. “People have been setting them off around the city lately, and no one was reacting, so we didn’t think anything of it. Then, I heard a three-round burst, followed by a full spray.”

After that, he knew the situation was serious. He began to run until knocked down by the bullet.

“I went down and crawled the rest of the way into the bar,” Ruffin said. “I immediately knew I was hit, but I knew to check for fingers and toes and to remain calm, which helped with keeping the bleeding down. Injured people tend to panic, which just speeds up the bleeding, so I knew I had to stay calm. Although I lost a good bit of blood, I never went into shock and remained conscious the entire time.”

But the pain was always on his mind.

“[Getting shot] is like being cut and then having a large amount of pressure applied throughout the entire wound. It was really hot and uncomfortable and was an odd feeling to try to shake off.”

After 37 hours in DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Ruffin was released Wednesday afternoon. For the past few weeks, he has had to change his bandages twice a day. However, the doctors recently removed the stitches and reopened the wound. He now travels to the Student Health Center to get the wound packed in order to allow it to heal from the inside out.

Ruffin uses a cane to get around, but he leaves many necessary activities – such as moving out of his apartment – to his friends and family.

“Life has been pretty tough lately,” he said. “Fortunately, I have great friends I have been able to rely on for even daily things such as going places, reaching things on higher surfaces, and changing bandages when necessary.”

Ruffin realizes the recovery process will be a slow one and that it will take time to learn not to jump at loud noises. He also realizes that his life will never be the same.

“I feel a lot of disgust toward [Wilkins] for the actions that he took,” he said. “Some say he was aiming low because he didn’t actually want to kill anyone, but even without death, he has drastically changed all of our ways of life. There is no guarantee if I, or anyone else, will ever be back at 100 percent.

“No one knows for sure who he was aiming at that night, and I think I was just unfortunate to be in the path.”