MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – A South Florida woman was celebrating the Fourth of July at the Miami Shores Country Club when she was shot by a stray bullet.
Patricia Beyhaut said the incident could have been much worse, as her young children were only inches away from her at the time.
Beyhaut said she and her two children were watching the fireworks display when she was shot.
Her son recorded the fireworks display on his phone. As the show ended, something hit her in the leg.
"The pain was so strong that I was like grunting or making some noises that my kids were not used to, so my daughter just started to panic," Beyhaut said.
Beyhaut originally thought she had been hit with a golf ball. But when she looked down, she realized her injury was much worse.
"It came in, into the body, and left the clothing around it," Beyhaut said.
Beyhaut was taken to Aventura Hospital and Medical Center, where a surgeon removed a bullet from her leg.
Fortunately, the bullet was stopped before it hit a bone.
Police believe despite all of the warnings given out leading up to the holiday, this was likely a stray bullet from someone shooting straight up into the air.
"Not only was she lucky, but everybody else was lucky," Miami Shores police Lt. David Golt said. "This bullet appeared to have been fired probably from somebody celebrating July Fourth."
Beyhaut was released from the hospital Wednesday night and is now home recovering. She said she's in pain, but is feeling thankful that it hit her instead of one of the dozens of kids who had been around her.
"What you shoot in the air has to land somewhere," Beyhaut said. "Last night it landed luckily on my leg, but there were little kids. It could have killed them."
Beyhaut is doing well. She said her children were shaken up about the incident but are doing OK, as well.
She's hoping her story will prevent someone from shooting up in the air in the future.