Boise,Idaho
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
-- A Spokane teen shot in the face near Boise last month is on the road to recovery, and even coughed up a piece of the bullet lodged in his throat.

In early September, 19-year-old Austin Askins and two other friends, who all attended the same college, were approached by a stranger.

The man stopped and talked with them, left, then returned and shot all three teens.

Askins was shot in the face. One of his friends was shot in the shoulder, the other in the back.

The bullet that injured Askins lodged in his throat, toward the back of his neck, causing him to have a sore throat and trouble swallowing.

After extensive time in the hospital, several surgeons guessed the bullet would perhaps move one day, but they never imagined what happened to Askins just last week.

Askins took a flight from Boise to Spokane and while stepping off the plane, he began coughing.

"Right as I got off the plane I coughed really hard and the bullet popped out," said Askins. "I guess it was the casing or something."

Askins' family saved the bullet because the gunman has not been caught.

"I've just got to work through it and get it out of my mind," said Askins. "I just gotta live. It's always going to be there, but I'll just try not to think about it."

Around $14,000 has been raised by the Boise community as a reward for information leading to the gunman's arrest.