NCIS: How Many Times Has Gibbs Been Shot?
Contains spoilers for “NCIS: Origins” Season 3, Episode 1 – “Don’t You Forget About Me”
After a period of “NCIS: Origins” narration duty, Mark Harmon’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs finally shows up onscreen in “Origins” Season 3, Episode 1 (titled “Don’t You Forget About Me”), and promptly takes a bullet. Of course, he survives, thanks to a handy old trick that effectively enables him to convincingly play dead. He’s Leroy Jethro Gibbs, after all.
Besides, the long-standing Major Case Response Team leader has had plenty of experience taking bullets. By a quick (and possibly non-comprehensive) count, Gibbs has been shot one way or another at least six times before the “Origins” Season 3 premiere brings the count to seven.
Perhaps the most famous one happened in “NCIS” Season 1, Episode 16, “Bête Noire” – one of Harmon’s best action-packed “NCIS” episodes. Here, a charismatic mystery man who’s ultimately revealed to be Ziva David’s (Cote de Pablo) half-brother Ari Haswari (Rudolf Martin) infiltrates the NCIS morgue. This daring mission culminates in a face-off between Ari and Gibbs, and the latter takes a bullet in the shoulder. In Season 1, Episode 21 (“Split Decision”), he’s shot again. This time, however, the dramatic incident turns out to be a fake situation where ATF Agent Roger Cooke (Scott McDonald) poses as a militia leader who “shoots” Gibbs.
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Things don’t get much easier for Gibbs after NCIS Season 1
While “NCIS” Season 1 features its share of shooting storylines involving Gibbs as the intended recipient, later seasons recycle the theme enough for it to count as a recurring event. In Season 6, Episode 9 (“Dagger”), his finger is injured during a shootout — though if we’re being technical, said injury is caused by shrapnel from shattered glass instead of a bullet. Meanwhile, Season 9, Episode 14 (“Life Before His Eyes”) focuses on the titular near-death experience, which Gibbs has when he faces an unexpected shooter at a diner. He’s ultimately shot in the shoulder once again.
While the Season 1 confrontation between Ari and Gibbs might be iconic, the most serious gunshot wounds the “NCIS” man received happen in the Season 12 finale, “Neverland.” Here, the season ends with a major cliffhanger when Luke Harris (Daniel Zolghadri) shoots Gibbs in the leg and chest. The Season 13 premiere (“Stop the Bleeding”) confirms that he survived, but as nail-biters go, it was a pretty effective way to end a season. Even young “NCIS: Origins” Gibbs (Austin Stowell) has had his share: In the “Origins” Season 2 finale, “Hollywood Ending,” he takes a bullet to the body armor.
Of course, Gibbs has been hurt in other ways, too. Notably, an explosion injury in the “NCIS” Season 3 two-part finale “Hiatus” leads to coma flashbacks and a temporary belief that the year is 1991. If anything, “NCIS: Origins” Season 3 seems intent on showing that even in his advanced age, Gibbs can shake off just about anything his enemies throw at him and make a dramatic return.
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