Sheriff: Bullet Came Within 'Half Of An Inch' Of Potentially Killing Deputy Steve Lowrance

DURANGO, Colo. (AP) - 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.

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