WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A woman who was shot in the face two years ago during a robbery in West Palm Beach spoke to reporters on Tuesday in hopes of finding her attacker.
"Words can't even say how appreciative I am (to) the people who have helped me. That's the reason I have gotten through (this)," Lyndsey Cooper said.
Cooper recalled the moment she was shot two years ago on Halloween. She said she had just gotten home from work at her pizza delivery job, when she was ambushed, robbed and shot in the face.
"When I walked inside my house with my face in my hands to wake my mom up and let her know that I got shot, I never thought I was going to live," Cooper said. "But I did, and I'm a survivor."
Cooper said it has been an emotionally and physically painful two years. She has traveled back and forth from West Palm Beach to Miami for more than a dozen reconstructive surgeries and procedures.
Her story struck a cord with West Palm Beach attorney Gary Lesser, who suffered his own facial trauma many years ago in an accident.
"Lyndsey could be my daughter, your daughter, someone who you know," Lesser said. "The senseless gun violence could happen to anybody, anywhere, anytime, and there's no reason for it."
Lesser is partnering with IHOP to help raise money for Cooper's medical bills and expenses. The restaurant at 516 N. State Road 7 in Royal Palm Beach is collecting donations in a box at the hostess stand and will also hold a fundraising event on Saturday.
Ten percent of Saturday's sales from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. will go to help Cooper.
With her family and friends by her side, Cooper is determined to keep pushing, but there's still one question she wants answered.
"Why was robbing me not good enough for you? Why did you have to shoot me in my face and leave me there just to die?" Cooper said.
Cooper's face, jaw and neck were left disfigured from the shooting.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information about the identity of the gunman is asked to call the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.