'I Was Praying To God To Give Me Strength': 70-Year-Old Woman Shot In Face While Riding Bus In Brooklyn Speaks Out
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A 70-year-old woman is speaking out for the first time after being shot in the face while riding a MTA bus in Brooklyn earlier this week.
Surrounded by members of the community, Lydia Flores got emotional Saturday as she thanked God for saving her life after she was shot Tuesday afternoon.
Police say dozens of passengers were on board the B-25 bus, driving on Fulton Street by Tompkins Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant, when someone opened fired outside.
MORE -- Police: 70-Year-Old Woman Shot In The Face Aboard Bus In Brooklyn
Surveillance video shows innocent bystanders running to a nearby restaurant for cover.
Police said Flores was sitting in the back of the bus when her cheek was grazed by a bullet.
At a press conference at the scene Saturday, Flores told reporters in Spanish, "I was praying to God to give me strength because I was bleeding so much."
MORE -- Police: Duo Seen On Video Running From Stray-Bullet Shooting On MTA Bus
Flores' family says the mom of two and grandmother of five was out running errands when she was shot.
She was taken to a hospital, where she received stitches, but is otherwise doing well and recovering.
Police say they're looking for two suspects, a male and a female.
Link: Tracking Shootings In NYC
Meanwhile, shootings in the city have nearly doubled. By this time last year, there had been 706 shootings citywide. As of Friday, there have been 1,373 shootings this year.
New York Attorney General Letitia James says the violence needs to stop, and she has a message for those committing the crimes.
"You need to reach out to one of us to let us know that we can help you ..., I want to give you a job, I want to give you an apartment, I want to provide you with a safe surrounding if in exchange you give me your gun," James said.
As for Flores, she's just glad to be alive.
In Spanish, she said, "I'm grateful to the bus driver, the NYPD, EMS, all the doctors over at the hospital."
No one else who was on the bus was reported to be injured.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
MORE FROM CBS NEW YORK