HTC EVO 3D Saves Man's Life From a Bullet; HTC Replaces it With Brand New HTC One

[dgstorm]

[video=youtube;n0XV8XZMHRk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=n0XV8XZMHRk[/video]​

Frequently many of us call our smartphones life savers, but for one Florida man, this was more literal than most of us would expect. According to this CNN report, an unnamed Florida gas station clerk was robbed at gunpoint. When he and his coworker couldn't open the safe, the assailant fled but not before discharging his weapon at the clerk. Luckily, the clerk had his HTC EVO 3D in his chest pocket, and it actually stopped the bullet which nearly ended his life. Here's a quote with a more detailed description,

The shooting happened after a man entered the store at the Hess gas station in Winter Garden, Florida, early Friday and asked a clerk to help him find a particular beverage.

The man then pulled out a revolver and demanded that the clerk open the safe, CNN affiliate WESH reported, but the clerk was unable to get the safe door open.

Another clerk then entered the store and was also ordered to open the safe.

After both the store workers' efforts to open it failed, the man fired a single gunshot as he left the store, WESH reported, citing police.

Emergency services workers were called to the store, and as they were interviewing one of the clerks, he complained of chest pains.

"So they started looking at the clerk. That's when they realized that the guy had actually shot at him, hit him, struck his cell phone, and the cell phone had stopped his bullet," Winter Garden Police Lt. Scott Allen said.

The chest pains were caused by the impact of the bullet on the cell phone, which was in the clerk's chest pocket, according to WESH.

He didn't suffer any other injuries and was quickly released after being checked at a hospital, the TV station said. ~ CNN

As amazing as this story is, that's not where it ends. Since the event, HTC decided to step up and replace the man's now destroyed EVO 3D with a brand new HTC One and several included accessories. Is this a shameless grab at some cheap publicity? Probably, but we can't fault them at all, and it certainly made the store clerk's day. At least HTC really has abandoned their old "Quietly Brilliant" PR strategy.

Source: Twitter - HTC

 

[SquireSCA]

I am not sure what kind of gun he had, but unless he had several layers of clothing on, even a .22LR would go through a cell phone. Trust me, I know. haha

But perhaps a .22 fired out of a short barreled revolver wouldn't have much velocity to generate penetrating power. While a .22 is small, because it is small and has very little surface area to it, it tends to penetrate things easier than you would think.

If they claim it was a .38, or 9mm, etc... I will have to call BS. Even an all metal phone like an HTC one won't stop anything of that caliber...

 

[Vepaot]

If they claim it was a .38, or 9mm, etc... I will have to call BS. Even an all metal phone like an HTC one won't stop anything of that caliber...

I would have to disagree. While a 9mm FMJ would punch right through it, there's a good chance a hollow point would not have.

 

[johnomaz]

It looks like the battery stopped it. Batteries are far more dense than the rest of the phone. There are tons of reasons why it shouldn't have stopped the bullet, but in this case it did and it may have saved the mans life. Good on HTC for replacing his phone. They didn't have to but that is good PR and just nice too.

 

[SquireSCA]

I would have to disagree. While a 9mm FMJ would punch right through it, there's a good chance a hollow point would not have.

Not a chance. A 9mm hollow point would go through a phone like it wasn't even there, with only minor expansion.

After hunting and firing in excess of 200k rounds of ammo over a 30 year span in tons of calibers, including tactical competition and even testing ballistic performance in my free time just for the hell of it, if a phone stopped a bullet at close range, or was a mouse-gun. I am guessing .22 or .25ACP.

Even a .32ACP would go through a phone and tiny battery. Good that it stopped it, for sure.

 

[swc2001]

Well I don't know about bullets.... but one time I had my Droid Bionic with an Otterbox on it, and I got kicked and knocked down by my horse! I was all why didn't that hurt? Well the Horse obviously kicked me right in the phone.... any more to the right and it would have been :blink:. Well anyway I pulled out my phone and the Otterbox was done and the phone had a good bend in it. Seriously the whole phone was curved. The glass was not even broke. So I guess I had the first prototype Curved glass Phone. LOL
Well maybe not, But it sure saved me that day!! Ha ha!!

 

[Sydman]

Your move Apple.

 

[mountainbikermark]

Your move Apple.

Support Our Troops!!!
<><
I'm an "s pen aholic" Noteate

 

[acousticshade]

A phone is light enough where it would move significantly when struck by a bullet also. This initial movement of the phone can dissipate some energy vs if the phone was held rigidly in a vice. The angle that the bullet struck the phone may have been a factor as well. Nevertheless, the guy was extremely lucky.

Kudos to HTC also. While it is a pr move, it's still a nice gesture.

 

[WishRyder]

Better pictures of the life saving phone:
View attachment 67467

View attachment 67468

I've shot an Acer Iconia A500 and a Galaxy Nexus with a .22LR (HV), 9mm, and .40S&W all from from a fair distance (propped up on a hill, not in a vice). All the rounds passed through them like butter. Whatever caliber the robber was using had to have been pretty weak (or was slowed by something else fairly significant), especially since a robbery scenario had to be relatively close quarters. Judging by the size of the hole in the front, it couldn't have been much more than .22 - my guess is a .22 short, or a low velocity .22LR.

Still lucky, because a .22 will kill you just the same.

 

[SquireSCA]

Better pictures of the life saving phone:
View attachment 67467

View attachment 67468

I've shot an Acer Iconia A500 and a Galaxy Nexus with a .22LR (HV), 9mm, and .40S&W all from from a fair distance (propped up on a hill, not in a vice). All the rounds passed through them like butter. Whatever caliber the robber was using had to have been pretty weak (or was slowed by something else fairly significant), especially since a robbery scenario had to be relatively close quarters. Judging by the size of the hole in the front, it couldn't have been much more than .22 - my guess is a .22 short, or a low velocity .22LR.

Still lucky, because a .22 will kill you just the same.

Exactly, those pics confirm my belief that it was a little .22 fired from a short barreled pistol. I have shot washing machines, dryers, a George Foreman grill, an old Packard Bell desktop(metal case), an a Ford F250 with all sorts of calibers... Any decent round goes through more than you think. A 9mm fired from a GLock 19 punches right through a steel car door at 20 yards, so I don't see a little cell phone being an issue. haha

The most fun was the old pickup truck, with 6 of us armed with full-auto machineguns out in a field, loaded up with dozens of 50+ round mags... FN FAL's, M16's, some Uzi's, etc... Just turned a truck into swiss cheese in minutes... Then the cops showed up wanting to see the permits and paperwork... never saw two deputies look so nervous in their lives. We had several army blankets layed out with a dozen machine guns and 5,000 rounds of ammo... while the one cop was running our permits, the other one pointed out that we had more firepower than his entire department combined. hehe