Katie Guzenko, 27, was driving her car in the afternoon when she was suddenly shot. The bullet shattered the glass, pierced her nose and then exited the driver’s side window again.
Horrific footage from July 20 shows the woman hyperventilating with her own crimson blood gushing down her face before she realizes what has happened to her.
Thick layers of blood pour from her wounds immediately after the shooting, as seen in a video captured by Katie in her car.
Now she’s arguing that more needs to be done about gun violence in Portland, Oregon, after her family, who live in war-torn Ukraine, said they feared for their safety in the US.
It comes as Democratic-led progressives in America’s most uptight cities struggle to curb violent crime two years after voting to slash police funding.
Katie was driving near Southeast 130th Avenue and Powell Avenue in Portland when she was caught in a crossfire.
Katie Guzenko, 27, was driving in her car that afternoon when she was shot suddenly, as the bullet went through her nose and exited the car through the window
The Ukrainian woman, who lived in the Portland suburb of Gresham, recorded the blood running down her face after she was shot by someone in the street on July 20.
She’s now on the road to recovery, but has become an activist to get the city to do more about gun crime
In a video she recorded, her face covered in blood, she tells a stranger: “I’m very scared. I was driving and I heard shots.’
A stranger, who rushed to her aid, tried to calm her down, saying: “It’s going to be all right.”
Katie, taking deep breaths, says, “Someone shot me from inside my car.”
It is believed Katie’s face was pierced by the bullet during a gang-related confrontation by two people standing on opposite sides of the street.
Images show that the passenger window of Katie’s car was shattered by a bullet, which passed through and struck her, before coming out of her open driver’s side window.
Speaking to KATU afterward, Katie said her family living in Ukraine rushed to see if she was OK — even though she was in the middle of a war with Russia.
He said: “My family over there reach out to me to make sure I’m okay when they’re the ones in a war zone.
Katie said her family – who live in war-torn Ukraine – fear for her safety after she was shot while driving in her car
The bullet pierced the car window, traveled and hit her in the face during the ordeal. Portland police figures show an average of 30 shootings per month in 2019 – but now the number of shootings in the city has reached 112
A stranger, who rushed to Katie’s aid, tried to calm her down, saying: “It’s going to be okay.”
“Those wounds you see on my face are the result of a 40-caliber bullet that went right through my nose.”
The day after Katie’s horrific ordeal, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler declared a state of emergency due to gun violence and set a goal to reduce shootings and gun-related deaths in the city by 10 percent over the next two years.
Katie told city commissioners, “Ted Wheeler’s plan to reduce gun violence by 10 percent in two years is an incredibly low goal when compared to how much it has increased.
“Mayor, since you’ve called us a gun violence emergency, I feel very little is being done.”
He added: “The problem has tripled and we are trying to reduce it by 10%. It doesn’t look like a good goal.’
Portland police figures show that in 2019 there were an average of 30 shootings per month – but now the number of shootings in the city has reached 112.
Katie’s bloody ordeal after being shot in the nose. In 2019, there were only 36 murders in all of Portland, but that rose to 57 in 2020 and 92 in 2021 — breaking the all-time record
Portland has already had 22 homicides since the start of 2022, up from 19 at the same time last year, and is projected to be up to about 130 by the end of December. If it reaches 126, 2022 will surpass 2021’s record of 92 murders – breaking the 34-year-old record of 70 in 1987
The Portland Police Bureau also reported that of the 22 murders this year, all but one have been gun-related. Portland’s 21st homicide occurred in Dawson Park during the day, the third homicide there in the past 15 months.
In addition to the rising homicide rate, the city has also seen a significant number of shootings in the first two months of the year, totaling 264, up from 190 in the same period last year. Gun-related injuries are also up – 68 compared to 64.
Portland has seen a dramatic increase in shootings and murders since the death of George Floyd. The city saw a 250 percent increase in murders in the first six months after Floyd’s death, and shootings rose nearly 175 percent.
In 2019, there were only 36 murders in all of Portland, but those increased to 57 in 2020 and 92 in 2021 — breaking the all-time record.
Violent crime has increased throughout the Rose City, with assaults, kidnappings and rapes on the rise.
The total number of crimes increased from 9,600 in 2020 to 10,200 in 2021, an increase of almost six percent.