Washington woman survives being shot four times by stranger in random drive-by attack

‘The reality of like just no one, no one in my life wanted to kill me, for what?’

Shooting victim Lilly Valdez (Kiro7)

A 32-year-old woman has surprised her family and friends after she survived a drive-by shooting attack that she said has left her in “fear” for her life.

Lilly Valdez, who has two teenage children, told news station Kiro7 that she was with her boyfriend when she was shot four times by a random stranger on 5 February.

It happened as they exited a car park in Tacoma, a city in Washington state about 30 miles south of Seattle, when another driver fired at her.

“I felt it on my thigh first,” said Ms Valdez in an interview on Tuesday from her hospital bed. “Then he did it again right away. And that’s when he hit my rib. That one, that was when I was panicking.”

While her boyfriend phoned 911, the random attacker shot the Tacoma Public Utilities security guard again.

“Right on my neck. That one was the most traumatising one I think because I can literally still feel the warmth, the warmth of the shot,” she said in the interview.

Ms Valdez then drove her vehicle to her workplace and was assisted by colleagues.

“The reality of like just no one, no one in my life wanted to kill me, for what? And having to find help. Thank goodness I was by my job,” the mother of two added.

A friend of Ms Valdez said in a fundraiser on GoFundMe that she was shot “in her hip, upper abdomen, shoulder and through her neck” and that she “fought for her own life by running inside a nearby building” and asking for help.

More than $36,000 (£26,500) has been raised so far.

Police have meanwhile arrested a man, Jeffrey Poland, who allegedly hit a parked car and pedestrian shortly after the incident involving Ms Valdez, according to the Tacoma Police Department.

“The 47-year-old male suspect driver was booked into Pierce County Jail for Vehicular Assault, Driving While Under the Influence, and Assault in the First Degree”, said police in a statement following the incident.

Mr Poland reportedly appeared in court last week and pleaded not guilty to the charges, and according Kiro7 his bail has meanwhile been set at $2m (£1.47m).

The Independent could not reach his attorney.