A senior woman had what was left of one of her fingers amputated after stray bullets struck the woman in Newark's South Ward on Saturday.
According to the victim’s family, just before 7:15 p.m., the 60-year-old returned from a long day of work and decided the sit on her porch in the 100 block Jelliff Avenue.
As the woman sat and watched movies on her cell phone, shooters fired multiple rounds in the area, forcing residents to duck for cover.
Police say EMS rushed the woman to the hospital after bullets struck her leg and finger. Medical professionals at University Hospital called in a plastic surgeon after the bullet shattered every bone in the woman's right hand.
Miraculously, the bullet first struck the woman's pinky.
That severely injured finger was amputated, according to family members. "We have set up a Gofundme account where we are hoping to raise $10,000 to assist in medical bills since our mom will not be able to work on her long road to physical and emotional health." Please click HERE to donate anything you can.
Residents on Jeliff Avenue said the area had seen some changes for the better for about a year, with the complex undergoing upgrades and improvements to apartments, more cameras, and stepped-up police presence in the community that used to be plagued with weekly instances of gunfire and other violence.
"It hasn't been that bad around here lately," a longtime female resident told RLS Media. "I've lived in the complex for about 20 years and it has come a long way, especially in the last year.
“You get your share of guys hanging out around here, but not like before because the new owners don't tolerate it, so loiterers don't stay too long,” the woman said.
The family of the shooting victim said she never observed any suspects or saw anything coming. "It happened too fast."
The woman was released from the hospital Saturday and will undergo plastic surgery and rehabilitation.
The shooter remains at large.