33-year-old Justin Richards is lucky to be alive after escaping Last night's shooting attempt on his life. He was returning home after a quick trip to his neighborhood grocer at about 8:25, but he was distracted, on the phone with his girlfriend. And just as he approached the gate of his home, he turned to throw away some garbage.
That's when he was approached by a hooded figure, a gunman who fired up to three shots hitting Richards in the midsection and the back of the knee.
His sister who was also at home, heard the gunshots. She went outside to find Justin writhing on the ground in pain, the gunman still standing over him.
This morning she told us that she chased him off, pure adrenaline guiding her as she ran half-crazed down Santa Barbara Street, only stopping when she realized that he was still armed. The gunman then disappeared down Ebony street in the direction of Central American boulevard.
Richards was rushed to the hospital in a police mobile. The family says he was supposed to have undergone surgery last night but that as of this morning that had yet to happen, leaving them concerned about the state of his health.
