A woman who was injured by bullet fragments and broken glass when shots were fired late Wednesday near Loyola University is sharing her story about that terrifying night.
“Thankfully I’m okay,” she said. “It’s kinda just like, still really weird to think about that—that happened to me.”
The 20-year-old victim, who decided to remain anonymous, said she had just parked her car and was walking home when gunfire erupted early Wednesday. Once she made it to her building, she heard someone revving their engine nearby, and then, a short time later came the gunshots.
“Kinda shocking, actually, because I’ve been living at that apartment for months now and nothing like this has relatively come close to happening to me,” she said.
The victim said someone fired shots into her building as she was making her way up the stairs to her apartment.
“I get to the third floor landing by the window in the hallway and I looked up,” she said. “I see a green laser coming through the window in the hallway.”
Witnesses told NBC 5 they heard at least three gunshots. The bullets narrowly missed the victim, who was struck with bullet fragments and broken glass.
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“I was hit in my lower and mid back, and two shots ended up going through my neighbor’s door, and one of them went through their ceiling,” she said.
Pictures shared with NBC 5 show the damage from inside the building near Columbia and Lakewood avenues. Many residents in the building are students at Loyola University.
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“If I didn’t see the laser, and I had taken a couple more steps, I honestly think I probably would have been shot,” she said.
Chicago police detectives spent hours at the scene trying to figure out a motive for the shooting. While police continue their search for the gunman, the victim knows this story could have turned out differently.
“I definitely am super grateful,” she said. “Because if it had been a half-second later that I looked up—I actually might not be here.”
Police are still investigating to see whether the shooting was a case of mistaken identity. The victim described the suspect’s vehicle as an older model red Chevy Blazer.
