Teenage girl who survived Seattle drive-by shooting: ‘My glasses saved my life’

A teenage girl’s glasses saved her life when they incredibly deflected a bullet that would have hit her in the head in a US drive-by shooting.

Seattle Police said 16-year-old Alonza Bryant was lying on the couch in her living room when bullets sprayed through the walls and windows on Saturday night.

A single round hit the bridge of her glasses, breaking them and badly grazing her face, but miraculously sparing her any serious injuries.

Alonza told NWCN.com she had fallen asleep on the sofa with her glasses on. “If I didn’t have my glasses on I wouldn’t be here,” she added.

She was one of several people, including children, inside the house at 54th Avenue South and South Roxbury Street when a group driving past in a dark sedan opened fire at around 9.40pm.

When the car came around to shoot at the home for a second time, residents called the police.

Detectives believe Alonza was not the mystery gunmen’s intended target.

Her mother, LaVette Bryant, said nobody living in the house has a connection to gangs.

“We are honest, upright citizens. We don't do anything - harm - to anyone in this neighbourhood,” she told NWCN.com.

A spokesman for Seattle Police said officers collected shell cases and other evidence at the scene but did not find the vehicle after a search.

Detectives from the specialist gang unit are investigating.