An innocent bystander, Alia Abdul-Raheem, 32, was walking down Malcolm X Boulevard to her Bedford-Stuyvesant home after work when she was struck by a bullet during an apparent drive-by shooting on Tuesday evening. She described the terrifying moment she realized she had been hit.
Abdul-Raheem, who works at a record label, recalled, “I looked up and I saw a car driving by pretty fast, and the windows were down, and it sounds like the gunshots are coming from the car. Then the next second later, I just felt this hit on my chest, and I looked down, and thereâs a hole in my coat, through my shirt.”
After rushing home in shock, Abdul-Raheem discovered the seriousness of her situation. “I got home, and my sister opened up my coat and she could see the big gash and wounds on my chest,” she said.
She went to the hospital where it was determined that the bullet didn’t enter her chest and was only a graze wound. A 15-year-old boy was also shot in the same incident and was taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Abdul-Raheem expressed her shock and concern over the incident, emphasizing the need for better gun control. “It’s scary. I’m a bit shaken up. If we had better gun control, this would have never happened,” she said.
As of early Thursday morning, there have been no arrests in connection to the shooting, and the investigation is ongoing.
