Police officer shot during home invasion speaks on his perspective of the shooting

What began as just another night on the job became the most harrowing night of Charleston Police Office Seth Johnson's life, when the patrolman took a bullet to the chest in the line of duty.

"It all happened so quick that you almost didn't have time to think," Patrolman Johnson said. "On any given day, we know that any call could be our last."

His bulletproof vest saved his life.

"I thank the Lord above," Johnson said. "That round could've gone anywhere else on my body, other than my vest, which could've ended very differently."

It all happened as Johnson responded to a call for a home invasion on Albert Street a week and a half ago.

"I was the first unit to arrive on scene," Johnson said. "I could hear sirens nearby, so I knew people were close ... I was at the front door, waiting for my backup when I slightly pushed the door open from where it was ajar, just to look inside to see what layout I had, to see where we could go."

But, Johnson says, someone noticed him and took off. Johnson tried to chase the suspect, but was shot moments later by another man.

"It's a lot for your mind to keep up with, there's a lot going on in front of you," Johnson said. "I just reverted to my training."

He returned fire, killing the man who pulled the trigger.

As Johnson made it to safety, he says his fellow officers rushed in to secure the scene and get him to the hospital.

He says any of his brothers and sisters in law enforcement would have been willing to risk their lives to protect the public's safety had they been in his shoes.

"We got roughly 160 guys here and I feel that all 160 guys would have done the same thing," Johnson said.

Johnson also said he likes to think the incident may have helped keep his law enforcement family out of harm's way.

"Everything happens for a reason," Johnson said. "It could've been several officers going through that door, that could've meant several officers shot ... so if it was me taking one round, versus my buddies taking several, I would take that any day."