Katie Guzenko shot in face while caught in crossfire in Portland, Oregon

Katie Guzenko from the suburbs of Portland, Oregon, who was shot in the face during a gun battle appeared before municipal leaders to demand stronger action against gun violence.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Fox3 Now (@fox3now)

Katie Guzenko informed Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and members of the City Council on Wednesday, as reported by KATU2, that the wounds on her face were caused by a 40-caliber bullet that went straight through her nose.

Amazon HR expert Guzenko, 27, was driving in Portland on July 20 to pick up cutlery for a bridal shower when she heard gunfire near Southeast 130th Avenue and Powell Boulevard.

“I continued driving, trying to escape the region… Guzenko said in a recent interview with KGW8: “The next thing I know, my face is gushing blood.”

She was caught in the crossfire, according to the police, when two gunmen on opposing sides of the street began firing at each other during a gang-related confrontation.

One of the shooters’ bullets entered Guzenko’s car through the front passenger window, passed through her nose, and exited the driver’s window.

A gruesome video captured by the victim in the immediate aftermath of the shooting depicted the majority of her face covered in a thick layer of blood from her wounds.

Guzenko was able to pull over and leap out of the car to summon assistance. She anticipated that an ambulance would arrive on the scene in 20 minutes.

Guzenko, a native of Ukraine who still has relations in the war-torn nation, stated that she never anticipated to be shot in a supposedly quiet American metropolis, thousands of kilometers away from Russian firearms and artillery.

She stated, “My family there is reaching out to me to make sure I’m okay while they are in a conflict zone.”

The day following Guzenko’s near-death experience, Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland, Oregon, proclaimed a state of emergency over gun violence and established a target to cut shootings and gun-related deaths in the city by 10 percent over the next two years.

According to figures from the Portland Police Department, there were 673 shootings in the city of 650,000 residents during the first six months of 2022, compared to 199 during the same period in 2019, a roughly 240 percent rise.

Guzenko urged the mayor and Portland’s elected representatives to take more action to reduce gun violence during the meeting on Wednesday. Guzenko, who was present via video conference and still had scars on her nose, made the request.

“Mayor, despite your declaration of a gun violence emergency, I believe that little is being done.” Guzenko told Wheeler

The mayor said that he did not want to “fool people” by making exaggerated claims and that a 10% reduction in gun violence was the “bare minimum” He also stated that he was planning to recruit 300 police officers to the force to ensure the safety of the city.