West Philadelphia woman still fighting after being shot 8 times by neighbor
WEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A West Philadelphia woman is fighting for her life after she was shot eight times by her neighbor. Friends of the victim are praying for a miracle.
If there's one thing people know about 46-year-old Mary Pitts-Devine, she's not just a fighter - she's a spiritual warrior.
"She loves all people and I think that's one thing I love about her character because she reaches all people," said Tracey Williams, friend.
Pitts-Devine has been battling at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center after her neighbor shot her eight times in their 45th and Spruce Streets apartment house Sunday morning.
Police say the gunman, 51-year-old Steven Outlaw, suffers from mental issues and accused her spying on him with cameras inside his apartment.
Outlaw shot his neighbor then committed suicide.
"This was an assassination attempt by the enemy to literally take her life out. But God said, 'No!'" said Williams.
So many know Pitts-Devine as a woman of strong faith with quite a story.
She's a child of foster care, a former city social worker, a kidney transplant recipient and a breast cancer survivor.
Her life story is the engine that drives her non-profit organizations, Prophetic Presentations, which presents poetry and spoken word to help others.
Williams knows Pitts-Devine through her own non-profit, Present Truth Ministries. Williams and another friend, Aleah Seldon, say Pitts-Devine has been responsive.
"We began to pray. And as we were praying, she was just kicking her foot and kicking her foot and we began to sing," said Seldon.
As loved ones pray for a miracle, they believe their friend's work will continue.
"This was just something that happened, but it's not going to keep her down. She's going to keep moving. She's going to come from this stronger than before," said Seldon.
Friends say Pitts-Devine is the kind of woman who would forgive the man who shot her and would also want her story to help those who are mentally ill.
