Tamara Vellón has been on an emotional roller coaster. Only hours after being in a near-death situation, she gave birth to a new life.
"I'm feeling upset," Vellón said. "Traumatized. My emotions are all over the place."
Vellón, 21, gave birth to a 6-pound, 11-ounce baby girl Wednesday at 2:15 a.m., only a few hours after she was rushed to the hospital and treated for gunshot wounds.
Vellón had been shot around 6:15 p.m. Tuesday on the 1500 block of Rosalie Street in the Oxford Circle section of Philadelphia. The bullet went through Vellón's right leg and struck her left leg. Police identified the shooter as Vellón's neighbor, 43-year-old Onice Cox. Family members say Vellón and Cox had been involved in an ongoing dispute and an argument led to the shooting.
"As soon as my daughter closed her porch and went into my porch, the lady swung her door open and came out and shot my daughter," Vellón's mother Madelyne Lagares told NBC10.
Vellón was taken to Einstein Hospital where she gave birth to her daughter and continues to recover from her gunshot wounds. Lagares described the last 24 hours her daughter has endured as "hell."
"My kids and my grandkids are going to be traumatized," Lagares said. "They got a long recovery. I have to put them in therapy. We all have to go to therapy."
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Vellón, who is now the mother of three children, is hopeful she'll be able to get through it.
"With the help of my family and loved ones, hopefully we can get by all of it."
Police say they recovered a weapon. Cox was arrested next door and charged with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and related offenses.
