Groin, foot, upper leg, ribcage/ribs and a graze-wound on the shoulder. The articles I've seen state that he was hit in the ribs or ribcage and don't so much as hint at any damage to the organs of the chest. Another article states that this wound (called a wound to his side) damaged his spleen which indicates that it was probably too low to penetrate the chest cavity. The spleen is very vascular which would mean an injury to it would result in a lot of blood loss, but an injured or destroyed spleen doesn't incapacitate--you can live without a spleen.
The officer was quite specific in the interview that the wound to the shoulder was a "graze-wound" which he did not notice but was told about later.
What it comes down to is that he wasn't hit in any organs likely to cause rapid incapacitation and the only reason he went down was the hit in the upper leg.
Seems he still has some leg and foot issues.
Correct. In another article his wife says: "...if everything goes as planned, he should be able to walk and run again in a few years. They are saying probably two years, we're looking at..."
So was a .223 he was up against? 4-5 shots and he still wasn't out. Groin, chest, shoulder, etc. Close range as well. Makes you reconsider whether they are really a valid defense weapon.
You have to look at the whole situation rather than just focusing too tightly on specific aspects of it in isolation.
Otherwise we would "learn" the following things from this scenario, all of which are questionable at best.
- Since the deputy won with a pistol against a rifle we would be forced to the conclusion that a pistol is superior to a rifle.
- Since the deputy won by inflicting injuries on the lower legs and feet while being injured in the upper leg, torso and groin we would have to conclude that hits to the lower legs and feet are more effective than hits to the upper legs and body.
- Since he won with a .40S&W we have no other choice but to assume that the .40S&W is superior to the .223.
- Since he won even though he wasn't carrying a reload for his pistol, we should take away from that the idea that a reload isn't necessary.
- Since he prevailed from the prone position we would conclude that a man shooting from the ground has the advantage over a more mobile person shooting from the standing position.
Obviously none of the items on the list are wise conclusions to draw from the scenario. The point being that if one excludes too much of the entire scenario and micro-focuses on one specific aspect the result isn't likely to be a useful analysis.
The quote below provides a better analysis of the situation from Deputy Moore and his boss.
"His boss considers it something of a miracle that Moore was able to stop his attacker with nothing but a handgun.
"Under the best of conditions, to make that shot requires some pretty amazing aim," Brenneman said. "I firmly believe he had powers there assisting him."
"That was a little close for comfort," Moore conceded.
"It's a miracle that I'm alive. It's the closest I've come to seeing proof of my faith.""