GIRARDVILLE -- Gary Reidel says he thought his life was over.
"I don't think people comprehend what it's like laying on the ground not knowing if these people around you are going to be the last people you see," Reidel said.
Reidel was the victim of a shooting early Sunday morning in Tamaqua. He says he wants people to know the whole story.
"People need to know what really happened. This was a good deed gone wrong," he said. "We made sure somebody made it home safe, and I get a bullet in the back for it."
It was early Sunday morning. Reidel and his wife were drinking with friends at the Pine Street Pub in Tamaqua. Reidel says a man was asked to leave the bar because he'd had one too many, so Reidel's friend offered to drive the man home. He happened to be a neighbor.
Reidel says he went along to help, but when they reached the man's home on Orwigsburg Street, the man's son came along screaming obscenities.
"I don't know this guy from Adam. My buddy knows his father, helped him out, gave him a ride home, and I end up with a bullet in me."
Reidel says he had no idea who the man was, but it turned out it was Charles Heffelfinger, 23, who was upset that he hadn't been offered a ride, too, after being asked to leave that same bar earlier in the night.
Reidel says he told Heffelfinger to calm down, but it didn't work.
He says Heffelfinger pulled out a gun and fired two shots, hitting Reidel in the back.
"I said to my wife, I called her right as soon as I got shot. I was laying on the ground. I said, 'Tell my kids I love them, and I love you, too.'"
Reidel is a father of four. He has two brothers who served in the military in Afghanistan. He never imagined he would be the one shot and so close to his home.
"Over what? Giving a guy a ride home? Does that happen in today's world? I mean honestly, think about it. Does that happen in today's world? It's nuts."
Police say Heffelfinger went inside his parent's home after the shooting, coming out later wearing boxer shorts.
He is locked up in Schuylkill County.
As for Reidel, he is out of work and worried about what the future holds for him and his family after this weekend's shooting.