CINCINNATI (WKRC) – A local shooting survivor is sharing her story in hopes that it helps save lives.
April Hancock has survived two shootings that were seven years apart.
On September 19, 2017, she was shot in a domestic dispute with her child’s father, who then died by suicide at the scene. Her 2-year-old son was in the back seat of the car during the incident.
“I got shot nine times,” Hancock said. “Arm, chest, stomach, grazed in the ear.
Hancock said she’s still recovering mentally, physically, and emotionally from that traumatic event. But then, last month, her life was turned upside down again.
“I was sitting in my car. I just heard a fight break out, turned around, looked, and saw a crowd of people fighting, and at that moment, I’m like, ‘I need to get out of here,'” Hancock said. “I looked to the right because I heard gunshots, and I immediately thought to myself, ‘Not again.”‘
Prosecutors said that Cincinnati firefighter Mack Ogletree shot April and another man outside the 629 Sports Bar in Colerain Township; she was an innocent bystander.
“I live every day with a bullet in my arm for no reason,” Hancock said.
Hancock was asked what she would say to the two people who shot her.
“Control your emotions,” Hancock said. “Not only have you impacted my life and everybody in my life, you have now impacted everyone in your life.”
To gun owners, she added:
“Understand that you have power when you have those weapons. Use the power in the right way. You affect a lot of people if you don’t.”
Despite these near-death experiences, Hancock is focused on raising her now 9-year-old son, Josyah.
“He’s a dope kid, and he’s like my biggest and greatest blessing, the reason why I get up every single day,” Hancock said.
She finds peace under a tree near her job at the post office. She named it “Nyema’s Tree” after her friend, who was shot and killed in August.
Nyema had sat by Hancock’s bedside during her month-long hospital stay seven years ago.
“Some people in my seat would feel defeated; some people would feel like they can’t get up again; some people would feel like it’s the end of the world, but for me, I feel like I’m undefeated,” Hancock said. “At this point, you have to keep going.”
Hancock said that she started a nonprofit called The Loop, which stands for the Loss of Our Parents. The group helps kids cope with losing a parent, something her son needed after losing his father seven years ago.