The night they shot old Davies down

On the evening of Sunday, January 4, 2004 Ray and his girlfriend at the time were in New Orleans’ French Quarter, having just enjoyed a meal at a Japanese restaurant.

Rather than hailing a cab, the pair decided to walk home. But they were tailed by a white Pontiac Grand Am. A passenger got out and, with deliberate clumsiness, bumped into Ray, then pushed him to the ground. The assailant then turned on Suzanne, pulled out a gun and fired into the pavement to prove the firearm was loaded.

He demanded her bag, which she surrendered. But earlier that evening, Davies had placed his cash and credit cards in Suzanne’s bag and now the thief was getting away.

Instinctively, Ray gave chase. By now the robber had reached the getaway car, but before speeding away he turned and shot his pursuer in the right leg.

A medical team arrived on the scene and started cutting Davies’ trousers in order to examine the wound. ‘But they’re new trousers!’ he exclaimed, as the medics ignored his complaints.

Davies was taken to the nearby Charity Hospital. It later transpired from X-rays that Davies had broken his thighbone – the strongest bone in the human body.

Now he required a titanium rod to be inserted in his leg. His rehabilitation would take months. ‘It’s not like in the westerns where you get up and carry on,’ he admitted later. ‘Bullets really hurt.’