AURORA, Colo. — Rueben Campbell has lived in Aurora for around a decade. He and his wife took their three dogs out for a walk on March 9 when Campbell was shot, police confirmed to Denver7.
“For pretty much a solid eight years, I had walked just about the same path and walked across that grass just fine," Campbell told Denver7 from his hospital bed.
Campbell said the couple and their dogs walked by a unit at their Aurora complex when one of their neighbors approached them. Campbell said he had two prior verbal altercations with the neighbor.
The neighbor was allegedly upset that Campbell walked near the grass by his home. Campbell said the two men got closer to each other, and his wife jumped in between them.
Campbell pushed his wife out of the way, and said he put his hand up in front of the neighbor.
“I just reached out with my left hand to him, put my hand on his chest. And I don't feel like I even pushed him hard. I don't even know if I pushed him, it was more of a gesture. Like, stay back. You know, this is my comfort zone. That's your comfort zone," Campbell explained. “And he shot me. So he was literally at an arm's length away and he had a gun in his hoodie pocket the entire time that was never brandished, he never showed it to me. He never said he had it. It never occurred to me that he'd had it.”
Campbell has been in the hospital since March 9 recovering from several different injuries. Campbell said doctors had to remove parts of his large and small intestine. His pelvis was also fractured, according to Campbell.
“I own a company and I have seven employees and I have a lot of kids and grandkids and a lot of people that I take care of. They're the only people I was thinking of at the time," Campbell, who does not have health insurance, said. “I don't know what's going to happen with my company and the lives of every one I take care of.”
Aurora police arrested 36-year-old Johnathon Nelson, on charges of felony first-degree assault with a firearm and misdemeanor violation of a protection order. Nelson is being held at the Arapahoe County Jail.
A GoFundMe has been started to help the Campbells through the recovery process.
