A San Diego officer defies the odds thanks to lifesaving trauma care and a dedicated team at Scripps. 

On the night of Dec. 7, 2023, San Diego police sergeant Anthony Elliott’s life changed forever. He was responding to a report of a stolen vehicle spotted outside a grocery store in 4S Ranch. When the suspect exited the store, Sgt. Elliott gave chase. 

“As he was running away, he pulled a gun out of his waistband, and at the angle I was chasing him, I didn’t see it,” he recalls. “He shot me in the head — I was about five feet away from him.” He remembers hearing the exchange of gunfire and then officers coming to his aid. 

“I was still able to communicate, and I had them look for an exit wound,” he says. “I knew if the bullet went one end and came out the other, I probably wasn’t going to make it.” 

Sgt. Elliott — Tony to his friends, family and fellow officers — was rushed to Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. Remarkably, he remained conscious and lucid the entire time. His wife, high school sweetheart Laura, and two children were the only things on his mind. 

“All I could think about was my family and playing with my kids again,” he says. 

He was lucky to have survived. But the real battle was about to begin. 

The Barbey Family Emergency and Trauma Center at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla is one of two Level I trauma centers in the Scripps system. Expert trauma surgeons, specialists and multidisciplinary staff are on hand 24/7 to provide the highest level of care for any critical injury that comes through the door. 

When the trauma center team learned Tony was en route, the protocol was to immediately call a major trauma activation. Staff assembled to quickly assess Tony and determine the next steps in his care. 

In the trauma bay, the team checked for other wounds, took X-rays and blood samples, and prepared Tony for a CT scan. 

“Usually when someone has been shot in the head, it’s an unsurvivable injury,” says Ning Lu, MD, associate director of trauma and acute care surgery at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. Dr. Lu, a general surgeon at Scripps Clinic, was the attending trauma surgeon the night Tony was brought in. 

“Normally, when a bullet goes inside someone’s head, there is so much damage that if they’re not awake, they’re not talking, they’re not moving and they don’t need to be intubated,” she says. “That was not the case with Tony. He was awake, he was talking, he was moving. That in itself was shocking.” 

Tony had sustained a skull fracture. Bullet fragments and the bullet itself were lodged in his brain — but they just missed a major artery. 

A neurosurgeon was able to perform tests to determine the extent of the injury to his brain function. 

Frank Kevin Yoo, MD, Scripps neurosurgeon, performed craniotomy surgery and repaired the skull wound to the head the following morning. 

“Fortunately, in our society, we're not a war zone, so gunshot wounds are rare. It’s unusual to get that call,” he says. 

Dr. Yoo cleaned away bone fragments and repaired Tony’s skull. He continued to monitor Tony following surgery to make sure there wasn’t any swelling or bleeding. 

“One of the things we are taught as neurosurgeons is that when a bullet traverses from one side of the head and comes out the other side, it causes damage along that track,” he says. “A gunshot wound that’s through and through is often not survivable.” 

“When I saw the CT scan and heard people telling us that there was no exit wound, those were all good signs,” he continues. “Both radiographically on the CT scan and from looking at him, I knew he was going to survive this. I just had to get him through it, clean him up and make sure he didn’t have any serious complications, including managing intracranial pressure. As the brain swells in response to the injury, pressure within the skull can increase, potentially leading to further damage.” 

After graduating from inpatient care, Tony and his family returned to San Diego and Tony enrolled in Scripps’ Brain Injury Rehab Outpatient Program. 

Scripps’ interdisciplinary brain injury rehabilitation center, part of Scripps Encinitas Rehabilitation Services, is uniquely qualified to care for people with traumatic brain injuries, as well as stroke and other neurological disorders. Patients work individually and in groups with a comprehensive team that includes physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, an audiologist and social services. 

He also enrolled in the Scripps Day Treatment Brain Injury Program, or “brain camp.” Designed to re-establish neuropathways and help patients return to school or work after brain injury or illness, the program is intensive — more than six hours a day. 

Tony finished in near-record time, just seven weeks. 

Tony has been documenting his challenging recovery journey on social media, and this past year, spoke at the annual trauma reunion at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, reflecting on his recovery and inspiring others with his resilience. 

He still has lingering numbness on his left side, but he’s continuing to build on what he learned in rehab. He’s beyond grateful for the care he received to get him there. 

“From the moment I got to Scripps — the care I received before and after surgery, the administrative support and coming back to Scripps outpatient rehab — the caliber of health care was great,” he says. “Things could have turned out drastically different. There are a lot of people in the health care system who made a difference. I’d like to connect with all of them to say thank you.”