LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A mother of four is recovering at home after being shot in the head at an apartment complex on the east side.
“I was looking for a shortcut, trying to find a restaurant or something where I could pull over really quick and use the restroom,” said Martha Cabajal.
But for Carbajal, that one wrong turn altered her life forever. It was the evening of Oct. 5 when she accidentally found herself at the Vera Johnson Manor B apartment complex near Lamb Boulevard and Bonanza Road.
“Halfway into driving into the place, I heard what sounded like fireworks and it was a lot of them and the last time I turned to the right was when I heard a loud explosion or a bang,” Carbajal said.
Those fireworks were actually gunshots. A bullet struck the back windshield of her car and grazed the side of her headrest before striking her and leaving her blind out of her right eye.
“I thought I was going to die at the scene, and my instinct as a mom was to call my daughter and say my goodbyes to her,” Carbajal said.
Carbajal was taken to University Medical Center moments after she was shot. Doctors told her the bullet missed her brain by less than an inch. She says the fact that she is alive to share her story is nothing short of a miracle.
“I cry every single day as much as I'm fighting to be strong. It is very hard but overall, I’m glad that my family is not planning a funeral,” Carbajal said.
Carbajal shared images of the stitched and swollen bullet wound on her eyelid hoping to show people the lasting impacts of gun violence.
“I am not going to be able to see my family the way that I’m used to seeing them with both of my eyes. Good people, innocent people like myself, should not ever have to go through that,” Carbajal said. “Unfortunately it broke all this and all the bones around my face which I'm still healing from and the bullet just exited out of my right eye."
While the road to recovery, both physically and emotionally, is a long one, Carbajal hopes sharing her story will bring detectives one step closer to catching the people or person who did this.
“I don't feel bad for them at this point. What I would want is for them to turn themselves in,” Carbajal said.
Since the shooting, Carbajal's daughter has created a GoFundMe page to help pay for her mother’s hospital bills. The campaign has raised over $6,000.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555.
