Yesterday’s unfortunate high-profile shooting at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, which apparently arose due to a dispute over a broken engagement, could have been even worse had this officer not been carrying his Smith & Wesson M&P:

Chicago PD was dispatched to address the shooter. When police arrived at the scene, the perpetrator fired upon responding law enforcement. This officer was not seriously injured after a bullet struck his holstered M&P. According to Fox News:

During the gun battle in the lobby of the hospital, a second officer was also shot at but was not injured because a bullet struck his holster and embedded itself in his gun.

M&P’s are well-made guns, so it’s little surprise that this pistol managed to stop a bullet. The M&P’s slide is made out of stainless steel, and is treated with Armornite, S&W’s proprietary Melonite finish. Melonite is a nitrocarburizing process that leaves the steel’s surface with a 68 Rockwell C surface hardness rating.

Not everyone was as fortunate. The jilted shooter killed his intended victim, a bystander, and responding officer Samuel Jimenez. But other lives were protected by these officers rushing to meet the fight, and at least one life may have been saved by grace and hardened steel.