ROGERS, Ark. — Dumas native and current Rogers resident, Brittany Allen, calls Saturday, March 19, a nightmare.
Allen was one of the 27 people injured during a shooting at a car show, which left one person dead.
Allen says that before the shooting she, her friends and her sister were standing by a food truck when the night quickly turned into what she describes as a nightmare.
"I literally just froze because I didn't realize 'oh, they could be shooting,'" Allen said.
She says her friends began running away from the gunshots but she doesn’t remember moving due to being in shock. However, she does recall seeing her sister’s 7-year-old niece on the ground.
"I heard her scream 'oh my God' and so, I had already made up in my mind, you're probably going to get shot, but go turn around and help the baby," Allen said.
The young girl was saved but Allen was shot in the leg.
"I just felt the blood dripping down the back of my calve muscle and I was like, 'I guess I've been shot,'" Allen said.
She says what traumatized her the most was seeing the person, who later died from the shooting, wheeled into the same hospital as her.
"We will never be the same from this,” Allen said. "So, it's like, innocent lives were lost. Someone did actually pass away. Their family didn't deserve that, and my life will never be the same."
She's been going to the Hood-Nic Car Show since she was 13 and says she never thought this would happen. The event's goal is to address gun violence in the area and honor the lives lost to it.
"I'm trying to stay strong," Allen said. "But I'm human as well and my life matters."
Allen is thankful to be alive but says she’s slowly realizing the impact of the incident.
"I like to dance, I like to move around, I like to work with kids," Allen said while tearing up. "I can't do that anymore because I'm shot in the leg. Those things have finally kicked in."
Now that an arrest has been made Allen says she wants the shooter to know she forgives him. She also wants them to forgive themselves.
"I am not mentally okay," she said. "But I will use my resources to be mentally okay."
Allen adds that she does not want Hood-Nic to solely be remembered by this tragedy.
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