Katy mom says surviving drive-by shooting was a 'miracle'

KATY, Texas (KTRK) -- A Katy mom who survived a drive-by shooting says it's a miracle she is alive.

The bullet went through her driver's-side window while she was driving down south Mason Road on her way to a car wash.

She allowed Eyewitness News into her home where she is now recovering. The mother of two had her elbow in a sling and a bandage on her upper arm.

"It's hard, you think about your family. I have two little kids," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I'm so thankful. I mean I don't even care about anything else. I'm just happy to be here and so glad that I'm alive."

The lifelong Katy resident, who did not want to give out her name, has a 10-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son with her husband, her high school sweetheart.

She says her life was nearly taken by the bullet that still sits in her chest.

"It entered right here on my left shoulder and it tracked all the way across and it's sitting right in the area above my heart. It's more superficial, so the heart is behind the rib cage and the bullet is right in front of the rib cage."

Doctors told her family the bullet is millimeters from her heart. They say it was a close call.

"I just feel like I'm a miracle. To get shot in the arm, to have it travel into your chest and have the bullet still be in your chest, and to walk away and to be speaking with you three days later. I mean, I feel like it's just one of God's miracles, I do."

The shooting happened on south Mason Road near Cimarron Parkway.

She was heading to a car wash, to cash-in a rain check around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

"I was in the right lane and looking right about to turn into the car wash and I just kind of heard a boom or felt something. I thought something hit my car," she said.

Seconds after parking at the business, she realized she was shot. Employees at the car wash helped call 911.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating, says the employees also heard the shot but no one saw the shooter.

"I kind of glanced left and I remember seeing a late model Ford Explorer and it looked kind of light in color to me. I wasn't sure," she said.

Surveillance cameras caught that Ford Explorer driving next to the victim's SUV, in front of the car wash.

Investigators are now searching for the car, as this mother tries to get back to normal.

"My 10-year-old's been just a warrior. She's helped change bandages and helped me put deodorant on," she said.

Even with the suspect at-large, she tells Eyewitness News her family will continue their routine and they plan to go back to the car wash.

The Harris County Sheriff's Office is following several leads, but still need the public's help to identify the vehicle.

If you have information on the case, call Crime Stoppers at (713) 222-TIPS.