Woman discouraged, but recovering after being shot twice in Chicago this past weekend
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Between 5 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. On Monday this weekend alone, nine people were killed, and 38 more were hurt in shootings across Chicago.
But gun violence, of course, has to do with a lot more than just numbers.
CBS 2 talked with one woman who was shot and wounded over the weekend. She had previously left Chicago and had recently moved back – only to become the face of gun violence in her first summer back in town.
"My back is like a little stiff," said Domonique Tolson-Montagano. "It's like my lower back."
At 23, Tolson-Montagano never imagined she would be in such pain.
"Not the summer I wanted," she said.
Tolson-Montagano has two bandages on her back and leg – each covering a gunshot wound. At 12:38 a.m. Sunday, she was one of three people who were shot while standing on a friend's porch in the 5600 block of South Elizabeth Street in the Englewood neighborhood.
Police said at least one gunman – possibly more – opened for on a group of about 10.
The crime scene showed countless evidence markings on the block.
"Then the shots went off. Everybody started ducking. I got behind the concrete, and that's when I felt it," Tolson-Montagano said. "I'm like, my back is bleeding."
Tolson-Montagano's friends let her know she had been shot. A 39-year-old man was shot in the hand, and another 39-year-old man in the arm.
The gunfire was believed to be random.
"At first, I thought my back was hurting from the door, but my back was hurting because it had bullets in it – or bullets were coming out of me," Tolson-Montagano said. "That's crazy."
Tolson-Montagano is among dozens shot around the city over the weekend.
"That could've been me," she said. "And I don't think people are understanding and stuff – like, y'all have mothers too, and fathers. What are y'all doing?"
Tolson-Montagano is part of a troubling statistic she never wanted to join. She said those with guns don't care.
"The community can do all we can. We can sit up here. We can protest. We can walk the streets. We can do anything. It's not working. We're trying. I don't think the police or the mayor can do anything. It's only getting worse every year," said Tolson-Montagano. "It's a shame."
While Chicago Police had not arrested anyone in Tolson-Montagano's shooting as of Monday night, the department continues to fight to make every community safer.
But it is an uphill battle with the warmer weather.
"And we're trying to build Chicago back up, but we keep tearing it back down," said Tolson-Montagano. "We as a community have to stop doing that."
Tolson-Montagano said the shooter or shooters hid out in an alley and fired from a good distance because there was no warning. Witnesses said they heard more than 20 shots.
Tolson-Montagano is grateful the bullet to her back did not hit a nerve or her spine.
