A woman from Chicago says she believed she was about to be killed when a man fired at her more than ten times near her house, with her daughter watching.
On the morning of September 3, Erin Jenkins was heading to take her daughter to school in the city’s Bronzeville neighborhood when the attack occurred. Home security video recorded the shooting, which injured Jenkins in her chest and arm, leaving her in the hospital.
“I thought this was my last time seeing my daughter; that she was not going to have her mom in her life at all,” Jenkins said.
The Ambush on September 3
A black car pulled up just before 8 a.m., and a person exited it to open fire on Jenkins, who was standing outside her home at the time. The security video captures the whole exchange.
“As I’m trying to get out of the car, I fall to the car on the ground, and I see him shooting at the window of my apartment balcony,” Jenkins said.
Cellphone video recorded after the shooting shows the damage left behind:
- Bullet damage inside her home
- A shattered balcony window
- A car riddled with bullets
The Daughter’s Escape
Jenkins said her daughter was with her during the shooting.
“As I’m getting shot at, I’m telling her to duck low, and at that point, I didn’t think there was any type of escape for her, so I told her to run,” she said.
A video taken at the scene shows Jenkins’ daughter screaming as she ran from the gunfire. She told police that her daughter came back after they spoke with her on the phone and assisted with aid.
“She actually came back with the police on the phone, and she took off her school sweater and was stopping the blood,” Jenkins said.
Fearing the Worst
She stayed locked onto the chance that she would not live through it, according to Jenkins.
“What’s going through my mind is really just like how scared I am, how scared I was in that moment, how I could have lost my life,” she said.
“At one point, all I saw was bullets flying at me,” she said. “I thought I was going to die.”
“I’m screaming to the top of my lungs, terrified – just thinking it was my time to go,” she added.
Medical Recovery
She was taken to the University of Chicago Hospital in serious condition, and she has since had two operations while being treated at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
The Gunman’s Getaway
After the attack, the shooter climbed into a black sedan and sped away heading north.
Afraid to Go Home
The attack on her home has left Jenkins afraid to return to it.
“I thought that I was in a place where I was safe and I could live my life and build. And, it’s just frustrating that I’m too terrified to go home,” Erin said.
She believes the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.
The Investigation
Detectives continue their investigation without having determined a motive, police said. No arrests have been announced as authorities keep searching for the gunman, and the case remains unresolved.
She is on the mend from her injuries, yet she told reporters that she is far too scared to go back to her own house.
Source: abc13.com
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