LINCOLNTON, N.C. — A woman shot at a Lincolnton park said she wants to meet the officer who saved her life.
Eva Suzeete Vega-Banks said a trusted friend shot her on Jun 29 in the parking lot at Betty G. Ross Park and she escaped further harm before police shot and killed the suspect.
She spoke with Channel 9’s Ken Lemon about that day, telling him she thought she would die.
She said three weeks ago, John Thompson Jr. asked her to drive to a secluded part of the park then pointed a gun four times at her head.
Vega-Banks is a domestic violence survivor who learned to program her phone for dangerous situations.
She was able to secretly call 911 as dispatch listened. Vega-Banks left the phone on the dash and got out of the truck.
Vega-Banks reached back into the truck when police arrived.
“When I grabbed my phone off the dash, that’s when he had the gun aiming at me,” Vega-Banks said.
Thompson shot her once in the chest.
She said Thompson tried to shoot again but had trouble getting a grip.
“He probably would have definitely succeeded in emptying it all out on me,” Vega-Banks said.
She rolled under the truck to get away from him but was severely wounded.
“I was fading out and there was a lot of blood coming out,” she said.
She said, luckily, the officer got out of his patrol car and acted quickly.
She got out of the truck but left her phone on the dash so dispatchers could hear the threats.
As she heard police arriving, she reached back into her car.
“When I grabbed my phone off the dash, that’s when he had the gun aiming at me,” Vega-Banks said.
Thompson shot her once in the chest.
She said Thompson tried to shoot again but had trouble with the firearm.
“He probably would have definitely succeeded in emptying it all out on me,” Vega-Banks said.
She rolled under the truck to get away from him but was severely wounded.
“I was fading out and there was a lot of blood coming out,” she said.
She said the officer got out of his patrol car and acted quickly.
“He didn’t pause ... He was right to action,” she said.
The officer shot Thompson after he wouldn’t drop the gun.
She said she didn’t want Thompson to die, but she believes the officer was placed there to save her life.
“I know it could have ended way worse. I’m very, very lucky,” she said.
Now, she wants to meet the officer who saved her life.
That officer is on administrative leave while the SBI investigates the shooting.
VIDEO: ‘I shot her’: 911 call reveals details before deadly police shooting in Lincolnton
