'I Got You': San Bernardino Victim Sacrificed His Life To Shield Coworker

A survivor of the San Bernardino shooting says she's alive because her colleague used his own body as a shield.

According to the Los Angeles Times, 27-year-old Denise Peraza was sitting next to Shannon Johnson, 45, at a training session and Christmas party for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health at the Inland Regional Center on Wednesday.

Time apparently seemed to be moving at a snail's pace so the two joked the clock on the wall might be broken.

Five minutes later, two people dressed in black reportedly entered the conference room and opened fire.

Peraza said,

Everyone dropped to the floor. The guys opened fire for 30 seconds, randomly, then paused to reload and began firing again.

According to Peraza, Johnson wrapped his left arm around her and held her tight under a table, where they hid behind a fallen chair.

She said it was there where Johnson said the words that would become his last,

I got you.

Johnson was killed while Peraza suffered a single gunshot wound from which she is still recovering.

In a statement, Peraza said,

I believe I am still here today because of this amazing man. This amazing, selfless man who always brought a smile to everyone's face in the office with his lively stories about his hometown back in Georgia.

Johnson had been with his girlfriend, Mandy Pifer, for three years and planned on marrying her.

Citations: 'I got you' are man's last words to co-worker as bullets fly in San Bernardino rampage (Los Angeles Times)