Father: Lone survivor of cafe massacre is walking, talking
SEATTLE - The lone survivor of last week's bloody rampage at Cafe Racer has made enormous progress and is now in satisfactory condition despite gunshot wounds that pierced his lung, grazed other vital organs and shattered his jaw.
Leonard Meuse, a chef at Café Racer, was shot in the face and the armpit when Ian L. Stawicki opened fire there on May 30, and Leonard's father Raymond Meuse now says he believes the gunman thought he had killed his son. And he very nearly did.
"Apparently he shot Leonard in the jaw - the head - and he thought he'd killed him then, and Leonard went down," says Raymond Meuse, "and my guess is he shot him in the armpit then."
The bullet that hit Leonard Meuse in the head shattered his jaw, broke several teeth and shredded his tongue, which had to be sewed back together. Despite all that, the cafe chef has been able to speak a few words - in a mumble, but still understandable, his father says.
But the truly "amazing part," Raymond Meuse said in an interview with KOMO Newsradio, is that his son survived the second bullet without being paralyzed.
"It pierced his lung, it grazed his liver, it grazed his kidneys, it barely bypassed his heart, but the amazing thing is that .45-caliber bullet went between his aorta and spinal column - (and) there just isn't enough room for something that big in there," says Raymond Meuse.
"It nicked a bone on his vertebra and did not damage the nerve and was sufficient to push the aorta out of the way so that there was no damage," he says. "One of the doctors said this is practically a medical miracle, it's so rare."
Despite all the injuries, Leonard Meuse, a 46-year-old military veteran, is already out of the intensive care unit and has even been able to walk a few steps with assistance, says his father.
Raymond Meuse gives enormous credit to the skill of the staff at Harborview Medical Center for his son's positive progress.
"I have nothing but praise for the doctors and nurses at Harborview - they're doing a great job," he says.
He also gives credit to his son's stamina and also for the fortuitous path that the second bullet took through his son's body.
Raymond Meuse said one of Leonard's first questions when he was able to talk was "how are the others?"
"And we had to tell him. And that was rough," he says.
The father also says his son was actually the one who told Stawicki he had to leave Cafe Racer on the morning of the shootings.
"Ian had been told two or three times before that he was not welcome because he was so disruptive there," says Raymond Meuse. "So he came in on that day, and Leonard offered him a cup of coffee, and said, 'Well, you'll have to drink this outside.' And that's when Ian just blew up and started shooting everyone."
Two people, Drew Keriakedes and Joseph Vito Albanese, were killed immediately in the cafe shooting, and two others, Kimberly Layfield and Don Largen, died later in the hospital.
About a half-hour after the cafe shootings, Stawicki shot Gloria Leonidas, 52, of Bellevue near Town Hall because he wanted to steal her Mercedes SUV, police say.
A few hours later, Stawicki shot and killed himself as police closed in on him.
Leonard Meuse, a chef at Café Racer, was shot in the face and the armpit when Ian L. Stawicki opened fire there on May 30, and Leonard's father Raymond Meuse now says he believes the gunman thought he had killed his son. And he very nearly did.
"Apparently he shot Leonard in the jaw - the head - and he thought he'd killed him then, and Leonard went down," says Raymond Meuse, "and my guess is he shot him in the armpit then."
The bullet that hit Leonard Meuse in the head shattered his jaw, broke several teeth and shredded his tongue, which had to be sewed back together. Despite all that, the cafe chef has been able to speak a few words - in a mumble, but still understandable, his father says.
But the truly "amazing part," Raymond Meuse said in an interview with KOMO Newsradio, is that his son survived the second bullet without being paralyzed.
"It pierced his lung, it grazed his liver, it grazed his kidneys, it barely bypassed his heart, but the amazing thing is that .45-caliber bullet went between his aorta and spinal column - (and) there just isn't enough room for something that big in there," says Raymond Meuse.
"It nicked a bone on his vertebra and did not damage the nerve and was sufficient to push the aorta out of the way so that there was no damage," he says. "One of the doctors said this is practically a medical miracle, it's so rare."
Despite all the injuries, Leonard Meuse, a 46-year-old military veteran, is already out of the intensive care unit and has even been able to walk a few steps with assistance, says his father.
Raymond Meuse gives enormous credit to the skill of the staff at Harborview Medical Center for his son's positive progress.
"I have nothing but praise for the doctors and nurses at Harborview - they're doing a great job," he says.
He also gives credit to his son's stamina and also for the fortuitous path that the second bullet took through his son's body.
Raymond Meuse said one of Leonard's first questions when he was able to talk was "how are the others?"
"And we had to tell him. And that was rough," he says.
The father also says his son was actually the one who told Stawicki he had to leave Cafe Racer on the morning of the shootings.
"Ian had been told two or three times before that he was not welcome because he was so disruptive there," says Raymond Meuse. "So he came in on that day, and Leonard offered him a cup of coffee, and said, 'Well, you'll have to drink this outside.' And that's when Ian just blew up and started shooting everyone."
Two people, Drew Keriakedes and Joseph Vito Albanese, were killed immediately in the cafe shooting, and two others, Kimberly Layfield and Don Largen, died later in the hospital.
About a half-hour after the cafe shootings, Stawicki shot Gloria Leonidas, 52, of Bellevue near Town Hall because he wanted to steal her Mercedes SUV, police say.
A few hours later, Stawicki shot and killed himself as police closed in on him.
