A 77-year-old man who recently moved to the United States from Mexico took a bullet for his wife during the mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart on Saturday.

Juan de Dios Velazquez — who was shopping when a hate-filled gunman opened fire — shielded his wife Estela Nicolasa from the bullets as they flew through the store.

“He was arriving at the store when he was shot at close range and the bullet passed through him and hit my aunt Estela,” the man’s niece, Norma Ramos, told Reuters.

“Because he protected her, he took shots in his back.”

Juan de Dios and his wife had moved to El Paso, Texas just six months ago. The couple had previously lived in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just across the border.

The man was recovering at Del Sol Medical Center in El Paso, where he received several surgeries.

His wife, Estela, was struck buy a bullet in the stomach and was in stable condition Sunday night.

The gunman, Patrick Crusius, slaughtered 20 while wounding 26 others during the shooting. He was charged with capital murder and was being held without bail Sunday.