Prosecutors: Greenlawn shooting victim suffered spinal cord injury, may be paralyzed
Prosecutors say the victim was trying to drive away when 37-year-old Eric Giovanni Whilby fired into the vehicle.
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A 40-year-old woman suffered a devastating spinal cord injury after prosecutors say her ex-boyfriend shot her through the window of her car as she attempted to flee from him early Thursday morning in Greenlawn.
The shooting occurred at approximately 1 a.m. on Leigh Street. According to prosecutors, the victim was trying to drive away when Eric Giovanni Whilby allegedly fired into the vehicle. The bullet struck her shoulder before hitting a vertebra, causing paralysis and a spinal cord injury.
The victim remains hospitalized in intensive care, according to her sister, Shelly Dakin.
“She’s in the ICU. She’s currently stable and they’re not sure yet,” Dakin said.
Prosecutors said the victim's injuries are severe and could leave her permanently paraplegic or quadriplegic. The woman is also the mother of two sons, ages 9 and 11.
“Right now she has no feelings below. We’re hoping for the best,” Dakin said.
Prosecutors say the gunman was the victim’s ex-boyfriend, Whilby, 37. Dakin said the allegations have left her family shocked because they considered him part of their family.
“He was like a brother to us. We trusted him. My mom trusted him. I trusted him,” Dakin said. “It’s very disappointing for me because I treated him like a brother.”
New Rochelle Police Department officers arrested Whilby on Pelham Road in New Rochelle at 8:40 a.m. Thursday after authorities said he fled the scene. Exclusive video obtained by News 12 shows police chasing Whilby at a school roughly eight hours after the shooting.
Whilby was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to return to court on June 10.
Authorities also noted that Whilby has prior law enforcement experience, having served as a police officer in Jamaica. His defense attorney said he is currently employed by Northwell Health.
Neighbors said they were awakened by the sound of a gunshot and soon discovered a chaotic scene outside.
One resident, who requested anonymity, said she heard people crying moments after the shooting.
“I heard everyone was crying and I thought something bad happened. Something bad just happened,” the neighbor said.
When she went outside, she found the victim slumped over in the driver's seat of a vehicle.
“I ran outside to see what happened and what I saw was this poor woman,” she said. “I saw blood. That’s why I went outside to give first aid if she needed CPR or something because I thought she was dead, to be honest.”
The shooting has left many residents shaken in a neighborhood they describe as typically peaceful.
“We’ve had the police here before but never nobody getting shot or anything like that,” resident Gerard Johnson said.
“I got anxiety for everybody, not only me, for my neighbors too,” the anonymous resident said. “I don’t want that guy to come back.”
“It’s a good neighborhood,” said Salman Majid, the son of a nearby resident. “You never want to hear something like that happening.”
