The incident occurred in the middle of the summer crowds. After a shopping spree, Anna, whose real name is something else, and her friend were approaching an outdoor café when they saw movement that felt “different.” She had time to think that people might be trying to avoid a pigeon or a rat.
Then everything changed quickly.
"There was fear, panic and people getting up and running. I hear a loud bang and feel what I can describe as a hard ping-pong ball hitting my chest. I knew I had been hit by something, but I thought it was a mini rocket or something," says Anna.
She also started running, believing that a terrorist attack might be in progress. It was only when they had taken shelter in a restaurant that Anna showed her friend the wound.
When I removed my hand, I saw the panic on her face.
Be collected
Anna sounds calm when she talks, and even at the restaurant she entered a strange calm. Through her profession she has participated in safety training that she benefited from. She asked a waiter to press hard on the wound, told him to give a glass of water to her shocked friend and to call an ambulance.
"I thought if I get excited it will bleed more," says Anna, remembering:
I wanted to calm everyone down, because if they were going to panic, I would too.
Didn't it hurt?
It hurt when I got hit, but it was so sudden. Then it started to burn, the more the adrenaline wore off.
Grateful
Anna understands that she was shocked, at the hospital she joked and joked with the staff who explained that she had an angel watching over her. The bullet entered the chest without tearing any organs. It is still there, the standard is not to take it out "unnecessarily".
She still wants to remove it eventually. And she understands that she needs to talk to a psychologist to process the incident.
It feels very surreal. But when I see my wound and have to bandage it, when I bend over and it hurts – all the physical things – it reminds me that this actually happened.
The origins of the incident are being investigated. According to Portuguese media, it appears to be a fight between two criminals. Police have increased their presence in central Lisbon and other tourist areas, according to the Lusa news agency.
Instead of focusing on the misfortune, Anna thinks about the fact that no one died.
I feel, wow, I had guardian angels. I can't even be angry or sad, I'm just grateful.
She is also touched by everyone who has cared.
I heard that people had gotten in touch. It's incredible, and very nice to hear.
