A Black woman from Texas is speaking out after being mistakenly shot five times by police who believed her to be an intruder.
Eboni Pouncy, 28, recounted the events that led to the shooting inside her apartment earlier this month with ABC 13.
Pouncy, who shares the apartment with her girlfriend, said the pair had returned home, and her girlfriend realized she had forgotten her keys. The woman then told Pouncy to break the window so they could enter the apartment.
According to a statement from a neighbor named Robert Mitchell to the outlet, he heard the sound of breaking glass and suspected a break-in and called 911. Two Harris County officers responded to the Pines of Woodforest Apartments in the early morning of Feb. 3. after receiving reports of a potential intruder.
“I heard (the sheriff’s office) knock on the door, nobody responded, and then maybe five seconds later I heard a gun,” Mitchell told ABC 13.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office released body-camera footage revealing officers approaching the apartment and opening fire through a window after spotting Pouncy walking toward the door with a firearm in her hand.
Subsequently, one of the officers reloaded their weapon and continued firing before they both headed downstairs to radio that shots were fired. After the shooting, a gun was retrieved from the apartment entryway similar to the one Pouncy was carrying, according to HCSO, per ABC News.
In a cell phone video obtained by ABC affiliate station KTRK, Pouncy’s girlfriend was ordered downstairs by police following the shooting.
“I live here, please don’t shoot,” she yelled before officers had handcuffed her.
Pouncy reflected on the incident, stating that so much was going on that she didn’t realize she was shot five times by police.
“I started seeing holes in the walls. And then I realized there was something coming through the apartment,” Pouncy said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. “I see blood everywhere.”
She sustained multiple gunshot wounds to her legs and torso, fortunately avoiding any significant damage to her vital organs. Her attorney, Ben Crump, said the video was “evidence of the unnecessary and excessive force” and that Black Americans do not have the same Second Amendment rights as others.
“We all know that every American citizen right now is keenly aware of their Second Amendment rights and their rights to bear arms,” Crump told ABC News. “Why is it a presumption that we don’t have a right to the Second Amendment? This reminds you of the tragic killing of Breonna Taylor, where her boyfriend was a law-abiding gun-registered citizen. And yet, the police busted in their front door, shooting and killing Breonna.”
Pouncy, who is a mother to a 1-year-old baby girl, revealed how the shooting incident has significantly impacted how she cares for her daughter.
“[My] beautiful baby girl,” Pouncy said, per ABC News. “She knows that I’m not able to do the things I was able to do before, and I’m not able to be as attentive with my baby. She’s only one [year old]. That’s probably the hardest part.”
The two officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave as the investigation continues, according to the sheriff’s office.