PHOENIX — An Arizona state representative is sharing the terrifying details surrounding a drive-by shooting that left her paralyzed from the chest down.
The shooting dates back 15 years ago, but sadly, the case remains unsolved.
November 15th, 2004. That’s the day someone shot now Arizona State Representative Jennifer Longdon and her fiance.
"I just returned from a dream trip to Figi with my fiance," she said. "We were sideswiped by another vehicle... it just came up and sideswiped us to cut us off and someone started firing a gun.”
She remembers someone firing 5 bullets, striking both of them.
“Three shots and then the shooting stopped," said Longdon. "There were two more bullets and those were the ones that created our most catastrophic wounds.”
“He has a really significant brain injury... the last bullet is the one that hit me in the back and paralyzed me,” she said.
Jennifer was left paralyzed from the chest down.
“It was a Phoenix police officer, the first to arrive, and that officer put his hand in my wound and kept me alive," she said. "Another 90 seconds I would have died.”
Sadly, police were never able to track down the person responsible.
"When I was first hurt, I wanted revenge… and now I just want peace for both of us,” said Longdon.
Jennifer has moved forward, joining the House of Representatives. She’s also a Silent Witness board member.
“To help heal those scars in our community,” she said.
And now, she’s asking the community for help. She’s hoping someone listening has vital information detectives need to arrest the person that pulled the trigger.
“They have to live with this," she said. "For individuals who are sitting with a secret that’s burdening their soul… find the courage and the strength to come forward.”
Jennifer will never stop fighting to reduce gun violence.
In fact, she recently appeared before Congress in Washington, speaking about the cost of gun violence and how she was personally impacted by it.
If you have any information about her case, call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.
