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Teen Survives Point-Blank Gunshot To The Face

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IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - Shot in the face at point-blank range during a robbery that left his mother's fiancé dead, an Irving teen is alive and talking.

"I got shot in the face. I shouldn't be here," said Demorious Ducking.

Ducking was reading inside his family's home when he heard his mom's fiancé, Marice Crawford, being robbed.

When Ducking ran outside, he saw the robbers shoot Crawford and then they pointed the gun at him.

"I was just begging for my life. I was asking, 'Don't shoot. Don't shoot,'" said Ducking.

The robbers shot Ducking in the face, pulling the trigger from just feet away. The .22 caliber bullet ricocheted from his face to his spine and then to his should. It missed all his vital organs.

"I'm blessed. I guess it wasn't my time," said Ducking.

His father figure, Crawford, did not make it and later died from his wounds.

"He didn't deserve it. He was a hard-working man," said Ducking.

Days later, Irving Police arrested a 16-year-old and 17-year-old boy in connection with the murder. Ducking said he knew one of the teens who had been to his house before.

"They didn't have to do that. They took a life. They almost took my son's life," said Mary Ducking, the victim's mother.

Mary Ducking said it will be a long road to recovering for both her and her son.

Demorious Ducking, who plays football at Nimitz High School, said he cannot wait to get back onto the field and put his near-death experience behind him.

"It just made me realize life is short and you shouldn't take it for granted," said Ducking.

Demorious will be celebrating his 17th birthday Sunday.

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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