(CMR) A US Navy veteran was shot and injured just two days into her Christmas vacation in Jamaica. Jamaican-born Camille Carter-Jones and her husband, Christie, were attending a holiday gathering in Discovery Bay, St Ann, when she was shot on 26 December.
“It was a good time with good music,” Christie Jones recalled.
After several hours at the function, around 12:30 a.m., the couple was reportedly standing near the exit of a building converted into a bar when shots rang out.
“We just heard a loud sound. Bang, bang bang, bang, bang. We were trying to escape. Everyone was trying to run towards where we are. Like a stampede. I literally froze because I didn't know where the shots were coming from. When I look towards her, I saw her fall. Next thing I know, she screamed, ‘I got shot. I got shot,’” said Jones.
Carter-Jones was rushed to the hospital by her husband and brother. In all, five persons were shot, two died.
The Navy veteran was shot in the knee and thigh, fracturing her femur. She has since been discharged from the hospital, but doctors told her she could not fly commercial and required a medical flight.
“It’s very risky that it will affect the gunshot wounds,” said Jones.
Her insurance did not cover the trip because they did not view it as an emergency; as a result, the couple started a Gofundme campaign to help pay for the expensive trip home.
“We were just trying to have a nice vacation. It just turned into a total nightmare,” said Jones.
Carter-Jones will remain in a cast for up to four months before doctors determine if she'll need knee replacement surgery.
The couple said the primary goal of their trip was for their three-year-old daughter to see family whom she had not seen for some time due to the pandemic.
- Fascinated
- Happy
- Sad
- Angry
- Bored
- Afraid