As reported by FOX 12 Oregon, a 30-year-old Gresham woman may never walk again after being shot while trying to help a stranger who was being attacked outside a bar early Sunday morning.
Myranda Rice, a mother of two young girls, remains hospitalized after being struck by a bullet that passed through her stomach and into her spine while she attempted to break up a fight outside the Division Sports Pub around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. The injury left her paralyzed.
“She lost a kidney, so she’s feeling a lot of that. And they just basically confirmed that she’s a paraplegic,” said her sister, Jessica Hawash, in an interview with FOX 12.
Rice reportedly told her sister that she was leaving the bar with her boyfriend when she noticed three people attacking a man. She stepped in to help — and moments later, someone pulled a gun and fired.
“She just kept saying, ‘I didn’t do anything. I didn’t deserve this,’” Hawash recalled.
Gresham Police continue to search for the shooter and are urging anyone who may have photos or videos from that night to come forward.
The timing of the tragedy has only deepened the heartbreak for Rice’s family. According to her sister, she was supposed to move into a new apartment the very day after the shooting.
“She was supposed to move into her new apartment today. So we’re trying to figure that out because obviously all of that is going to be different,” Hawash said.
Despite the devastating diagnosis, Rice’s loved ones say she remains positive and determined not to give up.
“She will help anybody at any time. She’s really strong. She loves her kids. She just never quits, and I think that’s going to serve her really well in this situation because she’s a fighter. The whole situation just kind of proves who she is. She was helping a stranger,” Hawash said.
Hawash has started a fundraiser to help cover her sister’s medical costs and recovery expenses once she’s released from the hospital.