WASHINGTON — Stacy Chatmon says she was leaving the Safeway in Petworth on Georgia Avenue Northwest one evening when she accidentally walked into a flurry of gunfire.
“A guy was running toward the store, he was being shot at," said Chatmon of the June 14 event. "As I turned around to run, a bullet hit me here. It grazed my side and then the second bullet actually hit me in my ankle.”
DC Police say they found Chatmon and the other victim lying on the ground just inside the Safeway shortly after 6:30 p.m. Investigators told Chatmon she was an innocent bystander.
"My lower tibia and fibula were fractured like really, really bad," said Chatmon.
After surgery and a two-day stay in the hospital, Chatmon says her problems got even worse.
“I've had some good days, I've had some bad days," she said. "I struggle with bills, I struggle with food.”
Chatmon says she’s unable to stay on her feet, which cost her a job she got just five months before the shooting.
"I was able to make ends meet. I was able to keep up with my bills," she said. "Right now, I'm not able to do that because I'm not able to work.”
She says it could be six months to a year until she can return to her job, and victim assistance programs in D.C. haven’t been helpful. D.C. Courts do offer aid to innocent victims of violent crime through its Crime Victims Compensation Program. They can compensate victims for things like medical expenses, mental health counseling and lost wages.
“What they want me to do is, 'hey, go spend [your] money and once you spend the money, we'll reimburse you.' But how can I spend money that I don't have? Because I'm not able to work to make any money.”
Chatmon hopes her story raises awareness of what some crime victims go through and hopes more can be done for victims in the city moving forward.
“I don't expect D.C. to jump through hoops, but I always thought as a crime victim in D.C. that there would be some type of help out there for me," she said.
If you would like to assist Chatmon financially, you can visit her GoFundMe here.