What’s it like to be shot in the face and live to tell about it? 16-year-old Olivea (pronounced like “Olivia”) McCord spoke about it in an interview last week.
On the way home from school on Feb. 10, Olivea became part of a trend in crimes against young people in Jersey City, although unlike some of the incidents, hers did not appear to be gang-related. So far this year, there have been five homicides in Jersey City, the last three of which have been against people in their twenties.
Olivea was shot in the face coming home from Lincoln High School near the intersection of Communipaw Avenue and Van Horne Street in Jersey City’s Bergen-Lafayette section. The bullet went through one side of her mouth and out the other side.
Olivea spent a week in Jersey City Medical Center, and then several weeks recovering at home with her mouth wired shut. She returned to school on March 10.
Parents lashed out at police response
Since the incident, her mother, Annie McCord, and father Robert Allen have been a constant presence at public meetings, lashing out at the police response to their daughter’s shooting. They claim the officers were sitting in their cars and were slow to tend to the victim.
Also, both parents have taken issue with the fact that Jersey City police officers went through their home later that day, trying to find a gun. The officers have confirmed that they did so, saying they had reason to believe the shooter might have known Olivea.
Annie McCord said she didn’t think her daughter was specifically targeted. She said that if she was, “she wouldn’t be here anymore.”
Police have not yet found the perpetrator and are still investigating.
City officials have disputed the idea that the officers were slow to respond. They said the police were on foot patrol near the shooting and tended to Olivea in a “matter of seconds.”
Still recovering
Last week, Olivea was surprisingly nonchalant when describing the moment when she was shot.
“I didn’t even know I was shot until I started seeing the blood coming down,” she said.
Olivea showed a bit of shyness, looking downward at times when answering this reporter’s questions. But she also smiled at certain points while recounting the harrowing incident.
And being a typical teen, she was disdainful of how she looked in photos taken of her and her mother during the interview.
Annie McCord said that Olivea, the youngest of her four children, is still haunted by the incident even if there aren’t outward signs.
“I see her stare at the wall, and I know it’s bothering her,” Annie McCord said. “When she would have to stay home and I would go to church, she would tell me to pray for her. But sometimes, I would encourage her to pray as well. I just thank God that my daughter is still alive.”
Annie said she believes the shootings are a by-product of the increasing crime that she has seen in her neighborhood, where she has lived for the past 17 years.
She also said that doctors told her that Olivea could have died if the bullet had lodged in her mouth.
Olivea confirmed some of her parents’ claims about the police, but also defended the officers’ response.
“The police were sitting in their car with the windows rolled up and listening to music when I went up to them,” Olivea said. “But when they saw me, they immediately called the ambulance, and they came pretty fast.”
The teen has had some of her back teeth removed, and the wounded area has been drained several times during doctors’ visits. But the thought of that does not seem to pain her as much as when she sees the bottle of Ensure liquid drink, the only food she was allowed to ingest during much of her recovery time.
She also coped with her pain by spending time at her computer. Finding ways to cope came in handy when she found herself having to talk to some of her classmates, who were more emotional about Olivea’s plight than she was herself.
“Some of them were crying, because they never thought they could get shot,” she said, “but it can happen to anyone.”
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.
Olivea McCord was spared from becoming one of Jersey City’s homicide victims in 2009, but five others were not so fortunate.
Jan. 22: Elisha “Elijah” Benjamin, 59, was shot dead in an attempted robbery of a bodega where he worked near the corner of Ocean Avenue and Forrest Street.
Jan. 27:Kiritkumar Parikh, 57, was shot inside his bodega on Coles Street in an apparent robbery attempt. Like the robbery/murder of Benjamin, this incident occurred during daylight hours.
Jan. 30: Nigel Gore, 21, was shot while walking near the intersection of Rutgers Avenue and Sheffield Street, and a companion was also shot and wounded.
Feb. 10: Justin McNeil, 21, was shot in the chest near the corner of Ocean and Bayview avenues.
March 2: Carlos Orlando Quinones, 27, died while in a coma after he was severely beaten by teenagers during an apparent robbery at Cornelison Avenue and Florence Street on Feb. 24.
Suspects have been arrested in the murders of Benjamin, Gore, and Quinones, while suspects are still been sought in the murders of Parekh and McNeil. – RK