On April 29, 1990, a little past midnight, Brother Jerry Murillo, 28, was on his way home when he was accosted by armed robbers at the entrance of Horacio dela Costa Subdivision, Quezon City. The man had a .38 caliber pistol. Brother Jerry, a JMC member, pleaded with the hardened criminal not to harm him, but as he begged for his life, another gunman emerged from the shadows holding a home-made shotgun. One held him and as the other went through his clothing as he searched his pockets for valuables. Brother Jerry began praying to God and then he shouted out, “Hallelujah… Praise the Lord!”
His sudden outburst surprised the gunmen and they released him. The men were distracted by an approaching car. One of the men nervously warned Brother Jerry not to run or else they would shoot him. Brother Jerry cooperated with the ruffian’s demands. He did not want to provoke the precarious scoundrels to act hastily. He spoke to them with a calm voice but suddenly the bandit with the .38 pistol fired his gun at point blank range. Brother Jerry felt a sharp pain hit his chest and fell back on the sidewalk. The two-armed gunmen ran away empty handed.
It all seemed surreal. One moment he was walking home and within 60 seconds he had been robbed and shot in the torso. It dawned on Brother Jerry that he was still alive and talking to himself. He sat up and examined his chest. “What? There was no blood.” He had a tiny bullet hole, the entry point of the bullet, on his tee-shirt. The only injury was the swelling red welt, just left of his sternum, from the impact of the bullet after it bounced off his chest. Up until that time, Brother Jerry sometimes doubted the legitimacy of other JMC members who claimed that they had survived gunshots wounds. Now he was a true believer in the power of Jesus Christ.
Brother Jerry went to a medical facility to be treated for any unseen injuries. He was examined by Dr. Luis Panuncialman and he was given a medical legal certificate that was issued on may 3, 1990 by Dr. Honorata C. Gonzales, Chief Medical Records Division, Philippine General Hospital, Manila, that said: a grazing 20 gunshot wound, (1) lower anterior chest.” Later he was interviewed by a newspaper and he told the reporter: “Jesus saved me!” He showed the news reporter the scar etched on his left chest left by the gunman’s bullet.
Excerpt from the Book, Miracles in Moroland: A Journey of Faith, Love and Courage (The Inside Story of the Sipadan Hostage Crisis) by Sam Smith, published in 2015
