The following is via OnlySimchas.com:

Peter Gold, 25, a Jewish medical student at Tulane University cheated death when he stopped to help a woman being attacked on a New Orleans street when the attacker shot him in the stomach, police said.

Gold survived the hellish ordeal due to the thug’s weapon being jammed as he tried to shoot him again in the head.

Michele Adams, a former professor of Gold, told the Advocate newspaper that it was totally in Gold’s character to risk his life for someone in danger.

“That is so Peter,” she said. “He was always engaged, involved with his peers and just an amazing person, so it doesn’t surprise me to hear he was trying to help someone. ‘Selfless’ is what comes to mind.”

Gold, a fourth-year med student, grew up in Longwood, Florida, near Orlando, and was active in Tulane’s Hillel.

He stopped his car and ran after a gun-toting man that he spotted trying to pull a woman into a vehicle on a New Orleans street around 4 a.m. Friday.

The attacker quickly turned his attention to Gold and shot him in the stomach after demanding money from Gold who told him he didn’t have any. Miraculously, the gun would not fire when he tried to shoot him in the head.

Police are searching for the attacker. The woman he tried to attack was unharmed.

Gold was taken to a nearby hospital where he is still listed in guarded condition.

His parents said they appreciated the prayers and concerns but were worried about their son.

“Our sole focus at this time is on Peter’s recovery,” they said in a statement to ABC. “We ask that everyone respect our need for privacy while we join Peter as he begins to recover from the injuries he has sustained.”

(Source: OnlySimchas.com)