Woman speaks out after being shot while riding CTA bus in Bronzeville: EXCLUSIVE

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A woman who was injured after shots were fired at a CTA bus Friday afternoon on the city's South Side spoke exclusively with ABC7 on Saturday as she recovers at a hospital.

Chicago police said a person on the street fired shots at the CTA bus around 3:30 p.m. Friday in the 3900 block of South King Drive.

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Tamara Powell says she was on her way home from work on a CTA bus route she rarely takes. Seconds after pulling up to a stop in Bronzeville, she heard several gunshots coming from outside. She tried to duck for cover and then felt the pain in her leg.

Powell was a few stops away from home but never made it.

"It makes you think, and... definitely, like I said, it could've been worse," Powell said.

The 37-year-old mother was forced to take a frightening detour to the University of Chicago Medical Center.

"I have my headphones in," Powell said. "I'm on the phone and all of a sudden I hear pop, pop, pop."

Home surveillance video captured the Friday afternoon gunfire when Chicago police say someone began shooting at the crowded bus. People could be seen scattering from Pershing and King Drive.

"They tell me to get down on the floor. I realize I've been hit, and I see the blood start coming down my leg," Powell said. "When I did get down on the floor, I was eye-level with one of the entry points of a bullet. So, if I had gotten down sooner... yeah, probably would be different."

The shooting comes as the public transit agency is fighting to keep government funding with a newly revised safety plan waiting for federal approval. Just this week, Marquettia Johnson, the wife of a man killed in a December shooting on a Pink Line train in the Loop, shared her grief and frustration to CTA board members.

"Raymond didn't choose to be murdered," Johnson said. "He chose to get home to his family. And he never made it."

Powell, who says she happens to work as a security guard for the same company contracted with the CTA, is also calling for safety reform.

"Needs to be more done, because currently it's not enough," Powell said.

SEE ALSO | Man found dead on CTA Blue Line train in the Loop, police say

Powell had surgery early Saturday and says it will likely be a few days before she's released from the hospital.

The search for the shooter remains ongoing as Chicago police continue to investigate.

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