Lacresha Murray of Copperas Cove, Texas, says she was shot by an off-duty police officer while she was driving herself to the hospital on Sunday.
According to KWTX, the incident stemmed from a dispute between Murray and the off-duty cop that started after she reportedly made a U-turn in front of the officer's car. She says she made the U-turn because she was feeling ill.
"I did a U-turn in the middle of the street because I was going to go to the hospital," she told KWTX. "I started feeling sick."
The conflict reportedly continued with the two racing past each other in their cars, until Murray stopped and confronted him. Murray, in pain, clutched her side as they argued, and soon, she said, the man pulled out a gun.
"When I turned around to run back to my truck and get out of there, I just heard pop pop pop pop and all I could do was bend over and duck," she explained. She added that he didn't identify himself as a police officer until after he started firing the weapon.
Neighbors, hearing the sounds of gunshots, soon spilled out of their homes. "We were not going to have that in this neighborhood because this neighborhood is quiet and cohesive and we were not going to have this mess," recounted one resident, whose daughter called 911 to report the emergency.
Meanwhile, others reportedly yelled at the man to put his gun away. "If the guy with [the] gun tried to run, he wasn't going [anywhere] because the whole neighborhood would have tackled him because we were all out here," the anonymous resident explained.
The officer reportedly emerged from the conflict unscathed, while Murray was taken to Scott & White Medical Center where she received treatment for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
According another news outlet, KXXV, Murray returned to the scene of the shooting later that day, still wearing her hospital gown. There, she identified herself to officers and media—and asked officers to retrieve her phone from her vehicle.
"I'm a victim that got shot by an off-duty police officer that did not identify himself," Murray said. "For no reason, I didn't approach him, I didn't threaten him. I don't do anything. He just opened fire for no reason." She says that he shot her "six times."
According to Murray, the officer only identified himself as such once he saw the crowd of neighbors that had gathered at the scene. "At the time, when he's looking back and seeing these guys recording, he turned around, then he took out his badge," she said.
The Copperas Cove Police Department released a statement on the incident, confirming that a member of their force did indeed participate in the conflict. They wrote that "when officers arrived on scene, they discovered that an off-duty Copperas Cove Police Officer was involved in the shooting." The identity of the officer has not yet been confirmed.
They added that "Texas Rangers are conducting the investigation" into the case.
Newsweek has attempted to contact the Copperas Cove Police Department for additional comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
