‘This is bizarre’: Man reflects on bullet coming through house and hitting him

By Pete Cuddihy

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — An Omaha man faced the unimaginable when a bullet came through his window.

That Millard man is recovering from gunshot wounds.

On Friday afternoon, Kurt Kline was lying in bed at his West Omaha home when he was shot through both feet. His recovery now continues.

Kline said the whole situation is just bizarre. Both police and medical professionals tell him they’ve never seen a situation like this.

Although he was shot just two days ago, he says he feels lucky — and that his wounds are temporary.

Friday afternoon seemed like an ordinary day for Kurt Kline, who was waiting to grab food with his wife and granddaughters.

“I was sitting in my bed, similar to how I’m sitting now, kind of flipping through my iPad,” Kline said.

But out of nowhere, he heard a loud bang.

“Looked down. Blood was pretty much coming out of my leg, running down my leg. Looked back to just to my left and saw the bullet holes in the window,” Kline said.

Panicked, Kline yelled for his wife.

“Help me. I’ve been shot. Which is certainly a phrase I never planned to say in my lifetime,” he said.

That bullet hit both his feet, sending him to the hospital.

“For getting shot, I was very lucky. No surgery, no structural damage. I’ve just got a lot of tissue wounds. Got a bullet fragment. Probably about six weeks, you know, and I should be fairly well recovered,” Kline said.

Two days later, Kline is back home with two boots on and a pair of crutches, thankful to be alive.

“This could have been way worse. I’m pretty happy. We’re going to go forward, and things are going to be good,” he said.

One thing the retiree dreads, though, is his routine being disrupted.

“I go to my gym, Better Bodies, nine to 10 times a week,” Kline said.

The owner of Better Bodies Gym says if you’re a member, chances are — you know Kurt Kline.

“I think some people see him more than they see me. He’s in here multiple times per day, walking on the treadmill, doing a class,” owner Ben Grojean said.

Kline is a vital member of their gym’s community.

“I’ve had emergencies where I’ve had to leave the desk — and Kurt’s like, ‘I’ll work at the front desk for a couple hours.’ If you need something, you call Kurt,” Grojean said.

Now, the members of Better Bodies are stepping up to show their support.

“The gym is a tremendous community for me. They’re all over it. They’ve been to the hospital. I could snap my fingers and they’ll mow my grass,” Kline said.

But don’t expect Kurt to be out of commission for long.

“He said something like, ‘Well, it might be a week or two, but I’ll be back on a bike doing one-legged spin again.’ He just had a knee injury earlier this year, and he was in here spinning on a bike with one leg,” Grojean said.

Just two days removed from being shot, Kline is already focused on recovery.

“I know I’m going to be bored for the next, you know, x number of weeks — but this could have been way, way worse. You go forward,” Kline said.

“He finds the positive in seemingly negative circumstances,” Grojean said.

Inspiring those around him, Kurt Kline smiles through the pain.

“The world needs more Kurt Klines,” Grojean said.

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