When you think of a bullet to the brain, you probably picture an instant end. Yet the top 10 people on this list proved that fate can sometimes pull a surprising twist. Some aimed deliberately in a desperate suicide attempt, others slipped up in a moment of panic, and one even tried to murder‑kill before turning the gun on himself. Let’s dive into each astonishing survivor’s tale.
Top 10 People: Remarkable Survivors of Head Shots
10. Christen McGinnes
On the crisp morning of October 22, 2010, 45‑year‑old Christen McGinnes, weighed down by a cascade of losses—her job of 18 years, her mother, a close friend, her dog, and even her insurance—decided that enough was enough. She had already stopped her medication and was drowning her sorrows in alcohol, but nothing soothed the aching void.
With a revolver resting nearby, she meticulously tidied her apartment, fearing that friends, family, or police would swarm the scene after she was gone. Choosing the balcony for her final act, she rationalized that a head shot would preserve her organs for donation. She positioned the gun just under her chin, pulled the trigger… and nothing happened.
Turns out only four of the revolver’s five chambers were loaded, and the empty one was the one she had aimed at. Undeterred, she tried again. This time the bullet slammed into her skull, shattering her jaw and crushing her right eye. She blacked out but survived.
After a grueling series of surgeries that saw her jaw rebuilt with steel plates and rib bone, Christen emerged as a volunteer, dedicating her time to help others wrestling with depression.
9. George
Back in 1988, George was locked in a battle with obsessive‑compulsive disorder. The endless cycles of hand‑washing, showering, and rearranging turned his life into a nightmare, eventually forcing him out of school and work. Depression seeped in, and he confided his suicidal thoughts to his mother, who bluntly suggested he simply shoot himself.
He fetched a .22‑caliber shotgun from the basement and fired it through his mouth. The projectile pierced his skull, damaging the left frontal lobe, yet it didn’t end his life.
Remarkably, the injury appeared to cure his OCD. Physicians noted that the damaged brain region is often targeted in surgical treatments for the disorder, and George’s IQ rebounded, allowing him to return to school and become an A‑student.
8. Victor Sibson
In the early hours of April 19, 2017, 21‑year‑old Victor Sibson, heavily intoxicated, grabbed a handgun and aimed it at his left temple. The bullet slipped behind his left eye, ripped through his skull, and exited, striking his 22‑year‑old girlfriend, Brittany‑Mae Haag, in the chest. Haag, despite her wound, managed to summon a neighbor for help before succumbing later that morning.
Sibson survived the ordeal, spending weeks in the hospital and later being released. He wore a protective helmet to conceal the scar on his head. Though initially charged with second‑degree murder, prosecutors dropped the case after concluding that Haag was hit while trying to intervene in his suicide attempt.
Had he been convicted, the sentence could have stretched to 99 years behind bars.
7. Andy Sandness
On a chilly December night in 2006, 21‑year‑old Andy Sandness picked up a gun and fired into the underside of his chin. The blast obliterated his nose, mouth, and most of his facial structure, leaving his jaw reduced to a pair of teeth.
Doctors struggled to piece together his shattered visage. He was left with a tiny 2.5‑centimeter opening where his mouth should have been, forcing him to tear food into minuscule pieces, suck, and swallow. A prosthetic nose was glued onto his face, but it kept slipping, prompting him to constantly re‑adhere and repaint it.
Ten years later, fate intervened when a 21‑year‑old named Calen Ross, who had also shot himself in the head, became a donor. A grueling 56‑hour face transplant at the Mayo Clinic gave Sandness Ross’s entire facial complex, including jaw and teeth. He describes the new face as better than he ever imagined.
6. Unnamed Teenager
On the morning of November 10, 2015, a 15‑year‑old student at Lecanto High School in Florida surprised everyone by pulling out a 9mm pistol during an English lesson. Police initially mistook the incident for a school shooting, but it turned out the teen was simply attempting to end his life.
The boy aimed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger. He survived, though he sustained serious injuries and was air‑lifted to a hospital. The incident shocked staff and classmates, who had known him as a quiet, easy‑going kid. Authorities concluded his act stemmed solely from depression.
5. Darnal Mundy
On August 4, 2015, three‑year‑old Darnal Mundy unintentionally fired a loaded pistol in his parents’ Miami home. Early that morning, while his parents slept, the curious toddler rummaged through drawers—perhaps looking for an iPad—and stumbled upon the weapon.
He pointed the gun at the center of his head and pulled the trigger. The bang awoke his parents, who rushed him to the hospital. Miraculously, Darnal remained conscious, crying all the way to the ER. Surgeons treated the swollen head, and he made a full recovery months later.
4. Abebe Teferi
In a grim tale of love gone sour, 57‑year‑old Abebe Teferi entered a store on January 6, 2018, where his wife worked as a cashier. After shooting her multiple times and ensuring she was dead, he turned the gun on himself, aiming for his head.
Teferi survived the self‑inflicted wound and was rushed to a hospital for treatment. Investigators uncovered that the couple had been separated for three months, and the incident was a clear murder‑suicide attempt. He faces murder charges once he fully recovers.
3. Bruno Coutinho
On April 14, 2013, Brazilian PhD student Bruno Coutinho was cleaning his speargun when he accidentally aimed it at his own head. The 15‑centimeter harpoon pierced his left eye and burrowed straight into his skull.
Miraculously, Coutinho remained conscious throughout the ordeal. With the harpoon still lodged, he called for help and endured ten hours before surgeons performed two operations to extract the weapon. A neurosurgeon warned that the harpoon had narrowly missed a major artery; a millimeter’s shift could have been fatal.
2. Unnamed Lady
Social‑media selfies can be risky, and a 21‑year‑old Russian woman learned that the hard way. She discovered a loaded 9mm pistol left behind by a security officer at her workplace and decided to pose with it for a daring selfie.
She aimed the gun at her temple while framing her face with the phone camera, but the weapon discharged, striking her instead of the lens. The bullet didn’t kill her but caused life‑threatening injuries. She was treated at Moscow’s Sklifosovsky Hospital.
1. Melissa Smith
On October 17, 2016, 26‑year‑old Melissa Smith, a mother of two from Maytown, Pennsylvania, sent a farewell text to her family and a Facebook message asking a neighbor to call 911 before pulling the trigger of a pistol aimed just above her eyes.
The bullet shattered inside her skull, scattering fragments through her brain, neck, sinus, and pituitary gland, and even forced her right eye out of its socket.
Melissa survived, undergoing surgery eight days later at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Though she now lives without her right eye and has lost the senses of smell and taste, she reports feeling much better after her recovery.