Well, it was like a little [family] get-together, and a little argument took place. Somebody was arguing on the phone, and it was a kinda heated argument. That’s what I think that was what led up to [the shooting]. Wrong place, wrong time. I went outside about 10:30 to hail a cab on the corner. I was just waitin’ to go home. Then a black man and woman came up on foot [and started talking to me], and I saw that the man had a gun, and I ran. It had started to rain earlier in the night, so the ground was kinda’ slippery, and I fell. That’s when they shot me.

When I got back to [my family’s house], they wanted me to just sit down. I was awake the whole time. I felt when I got shot, but I didn’t feel nothin’ until a couple of minutes later I started to feel the pain. I felt my back, and there was a whole lot of blood on my hands.

I was in pretty deep shock, but I tried to keep myself calm. If I started to freak, then I knew I was gonna die. I was trying not to panic, and everybody around me was panicking. I was calming myself down and trying to calm them down at the same time.

I think I was six hours in surgery. When I woke up I was in a hospital bed with all these tubes. I was in a little pain, but not all that much ’cause they had all that medicine and stuff pouring through my veins. I was in the hospital for about a week.

I have the [colostomy] bag now. After my last surgery is done in March, I won’t have any problems, I can go back to work. But right now I’m on disability.

When I was coming home from the hospital we rode right past the spot where it happened at. I felt a little funny at first. I was like, “Oh God, this is where it happened at.” (chuckles)

Every time I think about it, I can picture the whole thing happening all over again in my mind. That’s the only thing . . . I keep seein’ it from start to finish. When it just pops in my head, I can see the whole thing happening all over again, in slow motion. I just don’t want to think about it no more. I’m just trying to get over the fact that it happened. It did happen so . . . that’s it . . . I’m just trying to get over it.