The bullet holes are everywhere inside the Marine recruiting office on Lee Highway.
Bullet holes in the chairs, the desks, the walls, the ceiling, the shelves, the couch where Sgt. DeMonte Cheeley was sitting when a lone gunman blasted more than 30 rounds through the window.
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Marine recruiter wounded in July 16 attack moving on
Some of the holes have been patched up now, the tangible reminders of the attack filled in, smoothed out and covered with patches of white primer. Three weeks have passed since 24-year-old Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez rolled up to the offices in a silver Mustang convertible and opened fire from the car on July 16.
Cheeley recounts the details of the attack with practiced candor; he’s told the story hundreds of times now.
He was sitting on the couch toward the front of the office when he heard the first shot, saw the spray of glass as the bullet splintered the window. He thought it was a firecracker at first, but Lance Cpl. Christopher Gilliam, also on the couch, yelled for everyone to run.