Multiple pellets remain embedded in an elderly woman’s back and head following a late night shotgun attack in north Down, her daughter-in-law said.
Joycelyn McCabe (65) suffered serious injuries following the attack on her home in Ballygowan on Saturday night.
The gunmen fired twice into the bedroom of the house in Brae Grove. Ms McCabe’s daughter-in-law Nadine Ferguson believes the house was targeted by mistake.
“There are so many pellets in her back and head not all of them could be removed,” Ms Ferguson said.
“Doctors only took out five from her back but there are many more. She still has six in her head. They are embedded in and they will not be taken out unless the areas become infected.”
Ms Ferguson was working a shift in a hospital when she received a call from Joyce herself around 11pm. Ms McCabe told her: “I have been shot.”
“I think she went into complete shock and I could not believe it. I got a lift over to the house and could see the window shot out,” Ms Ferguson said.
Ms Mc Cabe was taken to hospital where doctors worked on taking as many of the pellets out of the back as was deemed safe.
She remained in hospital until lunchtime on Sunday. “They wanted to keep her in a little longer but Joyce said she wanted to go home,” Ms Ferguson said.
“She need all sorts of injections, including for tetanus. She also has stitches from where medical staff were able to remove the pellets.
“She is still in pretty bad shape. But she could have been killed, that is the very sickening part, lucky to be alive. She is still running on adrenaline. She is in a lot of pain but she would try not to tell us because she is that type.”
When the first shot was fired it was so loud Ms McCabe thought her car “had gone up”. She dropped to her knees as the second shot was fired through the window.
One of her sons was in another room playing the X-Box with a head set on, Ms Ferguson said, adding that he thought it was a lightbulb breaking. He went to the check and found his mother lying on the floor of the bedroom.
“He had to lift his mummy off the floor. It was a shock for him. He does not want to leave his mummy’s side,” said Ms Ferguson.
“She was a total innocent. She minds her own business, keeps her head down and then this happens.”
