Sheriff: Bullet came close to potentially killing San Juan County deputy

Authorities say a sheriff’s deputy in Colorado came within “a half of an inch” of a possibly fatal injury after being shot while trying to prevent a suicidal woman from killing herself.

The Durango Herald reported on Thursday that San Juan County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Steve Lowrance was shot in the face Tuesday when 30-year-old Amanda Christine Maes of Colorado Springs fired a round, taking her own life.

San Juan County Sheriff Bruce Conrad says the bullet – a .380 round from a handgun – traveled just off center of Lowrance’s lower lip and about an inch off center of his face. Conrad says the bullet directly hit and knocked out a lower front tooth and exited through Lowrance’s cheek.

Lowrance is expected to fully recover from his injuries.