It's taken me a while, but I've finally caught up with both this and the other thread. Someone, maybe in the other, watched a detailed analysis of the shooting (zoomed in) conducted by some kind of expert. I didn't watch it because I couldn't watch it from a queasy stomach standpoint, so I'll have to take that poster's word for it. Anyway, that poster is absolutely convinced Kirk was wearing titanium armor plating, which the bullet struck the edge of, ricocheted up into, and out of his neck.
This brings up two obvious questions: 1) Why was he wearing armor? and 2) When did he start wearing armor?
Yes, he (rightly) felt a threat. Had he been attacked before? Had he been receiving threats? From whom? We certainly know by now about the Groyper Wars. Did one of them ever physically threaten him before? Did Kirk's use of body armor coincide with those "wars?" Was he ever consistently harassed by other groups or individuals? If so, by whom? Has there been any other reporting on this?
Well, shit, I had a lot more than just two questions.