Innocent man shot at Mobile bar speaks out after being discharged

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – Less than a week ago, Cody Goff was lying in a hospital bed on a ventilator fighting for his life.

Today, he’s talking to FOX10 News from his living room after being discharged.

Click here to donate to Goff’s Go Fund Me for medical expenses

“I have 25 staples down my stomach, I still have a bullet hole wound that’s stapled up and I have a hole where the drain tube is,” Goff said.

Goff says his recovery is a miracle.

“I’m five days spent being on a ventilator and a feeding tube. I’m just worried about being alive. “I’m worried about loving the people I haven’t seen, seeing the people I haven’t seen, and talking to the people I care about,” he said.

Goff says he was enjoying a night with friends at Hayley’s Bar in Downtown Mobile when all of a sudden, he saw a man enter the bar waving a gun.

“I hear a noise and I look over and I see the guy come in and I see his hand up- I see the gun. “I went to turn and I realized my right leg gave out because it hit a major vein and I just started bleeding and I couldn’t put pressure on it,” he explained.

Goff says he immediately knew he’d been shot.

He says a man named Lane Nielsen ran from a nearby bar to help him. Although Goff didn’t know it at the time, this wasn’t his first run-in with his Good Samaritan.

“It turned out-and I didn’t even realize- I went to elementary school with the kid and after high school he did EMT and he knew where to put pressure and he knew where to look to see if there was an exit wound. He saw people weren’t doing what they were supposed to and he got order in that situation,” Goff said.

Police arrested Michael Sullivan in connection to the shooting and charged him with first-degree assault. Investigators say Sullivan intended to shoot another person but missed, shooting Goff instead.

It’s something Goff still has yet to process, but he’s remaining positive.

“I’m trying my best not to harp on it. Nightmares suck a little bit- I had a couple of those last night, but all in all, I’m good. I’m gonna be good. The fact that I’m alive- I’m good,” he said.

Goff has written down a list of names of all the doctors, nurses and people who came to his aid. It’s a list he says he’ll cherish forever

“You rely on these people so much in every little thing- the things you’re not sure of, you don’t even know about. And it’s rough- it’s rough on them, it takes a toll on them. The fact that you’re dealing with it sucks but these people wake up every morning and deal with it,” he said.

As Goff begins the long road to recovery, he says he’s going to continue his passion as a local photographer. He says he loves Mobile and wants to highlight the beauty the Port City has to offer.

“We have a large crime rate and that’s sad and it sucks, but a majority of the people are good. “You have a few bad eggs in the bunch,” he said.

With tears in his eyes, Goff wants to remind people to never take life for granted.

“The world’s not as bad as it seems. The fact that you’re awake, the fact that we’re Facetiming right now on the news– that shows the glory of how successful the world can be,” he added.

As medical expenses piled up, his family has launched a Go Fund Me. Goff says anything helps.

“Whatever anyone is willing to do- I’m grateful. Even if it’s just prayer, love, compassion or words, that’s awesome,” I concluded.

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