Turkey Attack: American survivor Jake Raak played dead after getting shot by the gunman

An American man, Jake Raak was one of the guests at the Reina nightclub early on New Year's Day where 39 people were killed and around 60 others were injured. Raak who was shot during the Istanbul nightclub rampage said that he survived the ordeal by playing dead, remaining silent and motionless even after the gunman shot him.
The 35-year-old from Greenville, Delaware, said that as the gunman moved through the club spraying bullets, he targeted people who were lying on the floor.

"When he shot me I didn't move, I just let him shoot me," he said. "I was shot when I was already on the ground. He was shooting people that he had already shot."  "You just have to stay as calm as you can," he said. "I took a bullet."

Raak was shot in the hip and the bullet traveled to his knee. He added that he didn't move or make a sound because he didn't want the gunman to know he was still alive.

The gunman fired about 120 rounds during his rampage in and around the nightclub at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday morning and lasted less than 10 minutes.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the shooting on Monday, identifying the attacker as "a heroic soldier of the caliphate." It said the attack had been carried out "and in response to a call" from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, although it did not say whether it directed or merely inspired the perpetrator.


Source: NBC News