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Bedridden woman nearly hit by gunfire

Posted at 6:18 PM, Oct 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-25 22:06:41-04

Bettina Stanfield spends almost all of her time confined to her bed, on an oxygen tank, taking more than 30 pills a day.

A few weeks ago, she moved into an apartment near Harmon Avenue and Spencer with the help of a medical care company.

But she says just a week later, on Oct. 16, her sense of security was shaken.

"I was jolted awake," she says. Gunfire pierced her window, went through her living room, and into her headboard and pillow, narrowly missing both her and her grandchildren who were inside.

The bullets also narrowly missed several oxygen tanks that were being stored in the apartment. "If that bullet hit one of those tanks, it could have leveled the whole block," she says.

Bettina says the shooting started after their neighbor came up to her family outside the apartment and the conflict escalated.

Police arrested Joshua Banasiak in connection with the shooting, but he was since released from jail.

Stanfield now says she's living in fear for her safety and wants to moved to a safer place, but can't.  She hopes someone may be able to help her.

"I feel hopeless," she says. "All I can do is pray."