"It's overwhelming," Maine shooting survivor Jennifer Zanca says of Lewiston support
LEWISTON, Maine - Jennifer Zanca said a night out with friends in Lewiston, Maine on Wednesday, October 25 ended up as one of the most terrifying moments of her life. But she said those moments at Schemengees Bar and Grill will not define her.
"I didn't think I'd get out alive, but I did, and I am grateful. Many people didn't and my heart just goes out to those families that lost loved ones there," Zanca told WBZ-TV.
Zanca said she was enjoying dinner with three of her friends at the restaurant when the shooting started.
"I was shot in the arm and it was an assault riffle. It went through my shoulder, it shattered my humerus and my bicep is kind of gone and up and back here is too," she said, pointing to the back of her left shoulder. "The terror was horrible. We all went to the ground. We crawled around a wall but that's when I was hit. I followed one of the other girls I was with. Someone asked me how I crawled, pure adrenaline. It's horrific. It's just beyond what I ever could have imagined happening."
The retired nurse and mother of two children said she ran outside and hid behind a dumpster until police arrived. And it was a nearby neighbor who drove her to the hospital.
"At that point, I didn't really think I would make it. I knew I was hit and I thought I was bleeding pretty badly," she said.
Zanca says all three of her friends made it out alive. One hid in a closet, another dropped to the floor with a chair over her and played dead. She said she refuses to live in fear and adds that the outpouring of love and support she's received has been heartwarming.
"It's overwhelming. The Lewiston community, it's indescribable really. In some ways I am so thankful, but in some ways I'm just so sad for the people that aren't here with us anymore. I made it out. I just never thought it would happen here in Maine," Zanca said.