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Fort Lauderdale airport shooting

Traveler says laptop saved him during Florida airport shooting

Jon Swartz
USA TODAY
Investigators work in Terminal 2 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Jan. 7, 2017, the day after a shooting in the baggage area.

SAN FRANCISCO — As shots flew through baggage claim at Terminal 2 of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, and chaos reigned, one man considered himself lucky.

Steve Frappier, 37, an Atlanta school counselor, says his MacBook Pro took a bullet for him, allowing him to escape serious injury in a shooting spree that killed at least five and wounded six more.

“If I didn’t have that backpack on, the bullet would have shot me between the shoulders,” Frappier told the Miami Herald. “It still doesn’t feel real.”

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Frappier, who was in town for an education conference, heard what he thought were loud firecrackers in baggage claim until someone shouted, "He's got a gun! Get down!" he says.

As people hit the ground, the gunman sprayed the area with fire, hitting at least man in the head, Frappier told the Herald. During the melee, he said he felt something brush his back.

It was only later, when he was in the bathroom and opened his backpack, that he discovered a bullet hole in his school-issued laptop. He immediately handed it over to the FBI, which found a 9mm slug inside the backpack.

Follow USA TODAY San Francisco Bureau Chief Jon Swartz @jswartz on Twitter.

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