In San Francisco, a Bay Area teenager was shot through her right eye, her family called the incident a hate crime.
There is a surge in anti-Asian violence, including shootings in Atlanta. The police have not confirmed the exact motive, but it does not leave their thoughts.
19, Jessica Dimalanta, was attending a car stunt show alongside her friends on Sunday, March 21, when the suspects opened fire on the grey Lexus she was in. There was more than one suspect, gunning her down in her vehicle.
Not only was she hit, but a friend of hers were hit as well, while others had been spared and the suspects left the scene. In midst of the crime, she was taking to UCSF Mission Bay Hospital located in San Francisco.
Thankfully, she was transferred in non-life-threatening condition to the San Francisco General Hospital.
Still, multiple family members and relatives of the teenager claim that she was targeted for being Asian.
Dexter Martin, Dimalanta’s uncle, created a GoFundMe page for his niece and has now raised over $38,000 to treat her injuries and care for her so far.
The bullet went straight through her eye, leaving the teenager “permanently impaired,” Doctors were able to remove the shell, yet “fragments are still embedded in her face, and she is unable to chew and speak without pain,” Martin writes.
While in the hospital, Dimalanta suffers from testing positive from COVID-19, not forced into quarantine alongside her diagnosis with diabetes.
Martin tells sources, “Jessica will need medical care, is afraid for her life, and does not want to go outside because she fears something else is happening to her,” noting that the young teenager will require physical and mental therapy.
He adds, “Jessica is the sweetest, kind, caring person with an angelic voice, loves to sing and spend time with her family. She helps her single mother take care of her younger siblings, nieces, and nephews. She did not deserve to have to suffer like this. No one deserves this at all.”
The teenager was set to start her classes this week in order to become a healthcare provider, but the plans are now pushed back due to her injuries.
The GoFundme concludes: “We also want to bring awareness to the anti-Asian violence and racism that is evolving around us. Let’s please work together to stop senseless violent hate crimes and continue to take care of one another.
We are praying for past and current victims of these crimes, and hope we can move toward a safer and more inclusive society.”