Deborah Jiménez, a woman 8 months advanced in pregnancy who was hit by a stray bullet on Monday in The Bronx (NYC), survived, but is now afraid to go out.
Jiménez, 35, told New York Post how she tried to protect her unborn baby during the ordeal, while speaking out against rampant gun violence that puts innocent bystanders at risk.
She was on the Grand Concourse near East Fordham Road around 7:40 pm Monday when she was shot miraculously only in the left calf. Next to her were her 11-year-old daughter and other relatives of hers as they ate at a taco truck.
“It’s unbelievable what’s happening here… You can’t even do anything outside”
Deborah Jiménez, pregnant shot
“I had my back turned when I heard the shots,” Jimenez, eight months pregnant, recalled by phone Wednesday from her bed at St. Barnabas Hospital. “I saw people running and I started running.”
Jiménez didn’t realize he had been shot until he saw blood running down his leg. She described the sensation as a “sting” that was not painful at first.
As she began to scream for help, Jiménez was careful not to drop to the ground, even if it meant risking being shot a second time, so as not to harm her unborn baby. “If I had thrown myself on the ground I would have hurt my baby because she would have hit me”…I didn’t want to hurt my baby”
Before first responders even arrived on the scene, a police officer jumped in and placed a tourniquet around Jimenez’s leg to stop the bleeding. Her relatives also came to her side and helped reassure her until the ambulance arrived.
While Jimenez is thankful that she and her loved ones did not suffer serious injuries, she criticized the gun violence that has targeted New Yorkers like her as “crazy.” “It’s unbelievable what’s happening here,” she said. “You can’t even do anything outside.”
Jiménez, too, is eager to reconnect with the man who helped her. “A random guy came to help me. He said, ‘Relax, relax, we’re calling 911,’” she recalled. “I wish I could see him and thank him in person,” she said.
Jimenez, who works at a law firm, says he won’t need surgery, but he’s in pain and has trouble walking.
Although Jiménez’s spirits are very high as she waits to give birth next month, she admitted she was emotionally affected. “I’m nervous to go out again, but I have to,” she lamented.
A man dressed entirely in black fled the scene, authorities said. The origin of the shooting is not clear at this time. No arrests have been made or suspects identified. Anyone with information should call 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) and in Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Also through crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or by text message to 274637 (CRIMES), followed by TIP577. All communications are strictly confidential.
The week before, a Dominican grandmother was killed by a stray bullet going from her home to the supermarket in Upper Manhattan.
Gang violence has escalated in New York, where young people are increasingly protagonists as victims and perpetrators, particularly shootings and attacks with bladed weapons. A recent report from the NYPD found that recidivism among teens increased dramatically over the past five years.
There are also many cases of “stray bullets” hitting people “by mistake” on the streets and even inside the New York Subway. In some shootings the victims are children and the elderly.
After the rise in shootings since 2020, particularly among young gang members and/or victims, 2023 began with the same trend. In many cases, the gunmen use “ghost” weapons, so called because they lack a serial number to be traced and are usually homemade.
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