September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.  Read and share stories to honor survivors whose loved ones died by gun suicide.

239,330
total hearts received for Moments That Survive

Monique Fregoso

In August 2013, I became a survivor of gun violence. At the age of 18, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time: I was a victim caught in between crossfire in a gun violence scene. I had just arrived at the park. I was still in my car, looking at myself in my mirror, when, out of nowhere, I saw a SUV turn on high beams and drive off a bit fast. I didn’t think anything of it.

The next thing I heard was a gun being fired into my car and then a few bullets hitting my car. One bullet had gone through my back driver-side light, then through my trunk, my backseat and my passenger seat. That’s when the stray bullet hit my left upper abdomen. I yelled in pain, feeling my insides were burning, my vision going in and out. I was rushed to the hospital, and that’s when I realized gun violence needs to end.

The bullet is still in my stomach. It was an inch away from hitting my lungs; doctors didn’t do surgery since I was at risk of damage. It’s 2021, and I still have the bullet in me. End gun violence!

Reacting shows support for gun violence survivors.

239,330