An elderly Israeli woman was wounded on Sunday after being shot while lounging in her living room in northern Israel.
Lorette Levi, an 84-year-old Haifa resident, was evacuated to the hospital suffering moderate wounds. The preliminary police investigation indicates that Levi was shot by a stray bullet. No arrests in connection with the incident have been made so far.
According to the investigation, two men riding motorcycles drove by the building and fired a gun, with the bullet entering Levi’s apartment, which is located on the first floor.
Magen David Adom paramedics who arrived at the scene provided Levi with initial treatment before she was evacuated to the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. She is hospitalized at Rambam Medical Center’s Thoracic Surgery Department.
Chai Takatsh and Yishai Levi, two MDA paramedics who arrived at the scene, said the woman was fully conscience, but "shocked and in pain.”
“We treated her, bandaged her wound and stopped the bleeding before we evacuated her to the hospital in moderate condition,” Levi added.
Levi, a mother of nine as well as a grandmother, said she was watching television with three of my grandchildren when the accident happened. “Suddenly I heard a gunshot and saw a flash of light. I felt strong pain in my back and realized I was shot,” she said.
“Blood was everywhere, and I yelled for my granddaughter to help me. She called MDA and I was taken to the hospital. I have no idea who fired at my house. The violence in our country is horrible. I’m an old woman and have no chance to stand against anyone. It’s scary how violence in Israel can even reach us at our homes," Levi said.
“We've turned into Chicago.”
Levi’s son, who is accompanying the woman at the hospital, said he was at work "when my uncle called me and told me ‘your mother was shot’. I thought he was crazy, but then I realized it was true and I fell apart.”
“I’ve never felt so insecure. There used to be basic dignity once, now they shoot women, children, and the elderly.”
Levi’s daughter said the crime and violence in their neighborhood is "intolerable."
"Where are the people whose job it is to stop others from carrying weapons and shooting at people’s houses? We’re already afraid to leave the house, now we also need to be afraid of staying in it.
"The police needs to take responsibility for what happened to my mother and do everything to arrest the perpetrators and stop the violence.”