Justin Shepherd found a bullet in his guest room after police gunfire startled him as he laid in bed with his dog during the early hours of Sept. 29.

Shepherd, a 35-year-old disabled veteran, lives next door to the home where a Decatur police officer shot and killed his friend, neighbor and personal trainer Stephen Perkins.

“I was watching from inside the house right after I heard the gunshots because bullets were coming into my home,” he said. “I mean, I thought somebody was trying to kill me.”

Seven bullets hit Shepherd’s home on Ryan Drive that night, leaving holes in the siding, roof and window. He said he found a bullet in the floor in his guest bedroom and another in the gutter along his roof. Because of the damage, the power is still out in about half of his home more than two weeks later.

Estimates from his insurance company say it will cost more than $5,000 to repair the damage.

Another estimate from a construction company put the cost at over $10,000. But Shepherd said he believes the tab could eventually climb even higher once damage to his roof is factored in.

His insurance company said they’ll cover the costs, but only once he pays to meet his $2,000 deductible.

“Honestly, I guess I was far enough in the house, but it was just sheer luck, because if I was sleeping in one of the front rooms or watching TV, I could have been dead,” he said.

Shepherd told AL.com that police on the scene that night kept him out of his home for five hours, saying it was a crime scene. Yet, he said, they also told him he was not a victim and so the city wouldn’t pay for repairs.

Someone from Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling’s office later told Shepherd to contact the city’s legal department. But Shepherd said he’s hesitant to speak with the city’s attorneys because he doesn’t have his own legal representative, someone who can understand legal terminology and represent his interests. He told AL.com he’s talked to several lawyers, but no one wants to take his case because they don’t see an opportunity to win a big settlement and the case raises complicated legal questions about police’s qualified immunity.

“I want to come and express my disgust with the fact that my house was pumped full of ammunition, and not one person from the city has contacted me,” he told the council on Oct. 2. “Police department’s answer was to file a homeowner’s insurance policy, I have $2,000 deductible. Do I eat this month, or do I fix my own house? I don’t think it’s right that I should have to sit there and spill out $2,000 for 16 holes in my house. Wow. 16.”

Carl Cole, an attorney in Decatur, told AL.com that beyond the damages to his house, Shepherd could make claims relating to the mental anguish he suffered. Shepherd told AL.com that he is dealing with anxiety and has had trouble sleeping since the incident, as he constantly replays the event in his mind.

“Based on my understanding of where bullets were found inside his house, he would be in what’s called the zone of danger in terms of civil liability. So he meets at least some of the criteria to have a civil claim,” Cole said.

“Now, there’s some other hurdles that he’s going to have to jump through and dealing with the police immunity issue is certainly one of them,” he added. “But I think he’s got a claim worth worth considering and researching.”

Shepherd recalled seeing Perkins lying on the ground, bleeding. He told AL.com that he called one Perkins’ friend, one neighbor and the police department. The police told him it wasn’t safe to go outside, he said.

“And I was emotional even saying it because I felt bad being the one to tell them, but I knew I couldn’t run out there,” he said. “They didn’t want to believe it. I mean, who wants to believe that, you know, somebody was really shot.”

On the night of the shooting, the police said, Perkins threatened a tow truck driver trying to repossess his vehicle. The tow truck driver left, but returned to the house with police less than two hours later. Video footage captured by a neighbor’s security camera shows police parked down the street and hid in the dark outside Perkins’ home as the tow truck driver began loading Perkins’ vehicle.

The video shows Perkins’ walk out of his house shining a bright light and shouting “Put the truck down.”

In the footage, a police officer emerges from the dark and shouts for Perkins to get on the ground. The officer immediately fired his gun. Perkins suffered seven gunshot wounds, according to Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Perkins family.

Police said Perkins pointed a gun toward the officer. In their initial statement police said Perkins “refused” to drop the gun, but later walked back that statement after video contradicted it.

Protests continue in Decatur as demonstrators call for the officer who shot Perkins to be fired and arrested along with other officers at the scene that night. Decatur City Councilman Billy Jackson also called for Chief Todd Pinion to resign or be fired.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is investigating Perkins’ death. Scott Anderson, the Morgan County District Attorney, will decide whether to take the case to a grand jury to charge the officers. He has not responded to multiple requests for comment from AL.com.

Four Alabama civil organizations have joined the call for the officers’ arrest and urged the public to demand speedy action from the district attorney. Merritt, the family’s lawyer, said that during a recent meeting, Anderson would not commit to a timeline for reviewing the case.

United Women of Color, Citizens Coalition for Justice Reform, Vote Gone Viral, and INSPIRE launched the campaign on actionnetwork.org with an initial target of sending 1,600 letters to Anderson, which has since been surpassed after less than one week of the launch of the campaign that now has a new target of 3,200.

The groups described Perkins as a devoted husband and father, a gym enthusiast, and a hardworking manager at JM Smuckers pet food manufacturer.

“Steve dreamed of one day opening his own gym where he could continue to pursue his love of fitness while providing a safe space for community growth and development,” they wrote. “He kept his nose clean, telling his close friends he only harbored a single fear—being killed by the Police.

Shepherd said he feels grateful to be alive.

“Every time I go home, I see either the spot where he was, and it’s in my head like him laying there, and then I look at my house as I pull in, and I see all the bullet holes like somebody tried killing me,” he told AL.com. “And not only do I have a friend dead, but now I’m just hung out to the breeze because nobody’s contacted me or apologized.”