Studies have shown that employees who suffer an injury to their foot or toe miss an average of seven days of work. Jermaine Carter was just trying to make sure the same fate wouldn’t befall him — but that effort almost cost him his life.

Carter was on his way to work, only two blocks from his home, when he stopped at a red light and hopped out of his car. He wanted to check his trunk to make sure he had his work boots with him. When he stopped at the intersection, that’s when shots were fired.

Carter’s car was riddled with bullets, over 17 shots in all to the vehicle alone. Carter was shot in the leg while still sitting in the car, but then ran down the road in an effort to get away from the gunfire. He was then struck in the left arm, a shot which “nearly dismembered my arm from my body,” he recalls. As a result of the shooting, Carter is now permanently disabled and will always need to wear a cast on his arm.

Key to the incident is the several people Carter saw in the alley near the scene. These individuals, possibly the shooters, ran into a nearby house. Three women came out of this same house and took Carter to the hospital following the incident. The house’s occupants from that time have since moved out, and Carter never got their names.

Carter is especially worried that the incident where he was shot is only blocks away from the site the local high school football team, which includes Carter’s own son, holds their practices and games.

Even more unnerving is the randomness of the event. Carter’s only idea for motivation is mistaken identity. While the local police department is investigating this theory, both the department and Carter are appealing to the public for possible leads and further information.

Carter stresses the thought that the black community needs to stop hurting each other and come together in order to address the other problems of racial tension and injustice throughout the country.
Although the case is still active, there have been no arrests in the case.