LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas woman has filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit organization that manages an apartment complex where she was shot while driving nearly two months ago.
The shooting, which happened on Oct. 5, left 45-year-old Martha Carbajal blind in one eye.
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The mother of four was driving through the Vera Johnson Manor B apartment complex in east Las Vegas when she says she was randomly targeted after she made an accidental turn into the complex while looking for a place to use a public bathroom.
“Halfway into driving into the place, I heard what sounded like fireworks and it was a lot of them,” Carbajal said.
Those fireworks were actually gunshots. Carbajal believes she was randomly targeted. A bullet struck the back windshield of her car and grazed the side of her headrest before striking her.
“I looked down and when I looked down, I saw a lot of blood coming out,” Carbajal said.
Residents at the complex contacted 911 and Carbajal was taken to UMC hospital.
"When I woke up, the surgeon told me the bullet destroyed my right eye, and I wouldn't be able to see ever again,” Carbajal said.
Surgeons also told Carbajal the bullet missed her brain by less than an inch.
Now, she’s seeking accountability.
“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.
In a lawsuit filed in early November, Carbajal alleges that Nevada Hand, the nonprofit that manages the apartment complex, failed in its duty to provide adequate security. The nonprofit also operates several low-income housing communities throughout southern Nevada.
“It’s not fair to us or to anyone to die that way,” Carbajal said.
While she is still recovering physically and emotionally from the shooting, she says she’s choosing to speak out, hoping this won’t happen to anybody else and that the person responsible be held accountable.
“What I would want is for them to turn themselves in,” Carbajal said.
The case remains under investigation by LVMPD.
Nevada Hand declined to comment on the lawsuit.
