Elderly woman injured when bullet smashes through her window while she is sleeping

Christie Ileto Image
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Elderly woman injured when a bullet smashes window
Elderly woman injured by a bullet smashing through her window: Christie Ileto reports on Action News at 11 p.m., March 5, 2018

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- An elderly woman is recovering Monday after being injured when a gunman fired into her Southwest Philadelphia home while she was sleeping.

It happened around 1 a.m. Monday morning on the 7100 block of Brant Place.

Juanita Fortune said she fell asleep watching television when all of the sudden she heard a gunshot and her leg began stinging with pain.

She had no idea she was hit until she saw a shell casing next to her bed.

"I was just lying there and I heard this POP! And when I heard the pop, my leg, at the same time I heard the pop, seemed like my leg was burning, too," Fortune said.

In pain, in shock, unsure if a second bullet would follow, Fortune and her 38-year-old grandson struggled to stay calm.

"My grandson said stay down, and that's what I did," she said. "He told me someone had shot in here and there was a bullet on the floor."

Fortune said her mind raced, wondering if she or her grandson were the targets.

By flashlight, detectives scoured the Unico Village Apartments for Seniors looking for clues, even surveillance cameras to help them uncover just who fired into Fortune's home.

Detectives said it was a stray bullet that cleaved through the glass window and blinds but never pierced the 72-year old's skin, only leaving behind a bruise the size of a melon on her right knee.

"They don't know where it came from," she said. "They said it was coming at an angle. It came down."

It's not immediately clear what prompted the shooting. Fortune said she has no idea who could have done this and counts herself lucky to be alive.

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