An Abbotsford family is looking for answers after their 32-year-old developmentally disabled daughter was shot in the leg with a paintball on Monday afternoon.
Emily is well known on east Abbotsford’s Glenn Mountain Drive for sitting outside and watching the cars drive by in her chair. She is non-verbal and is unable to provide details of the incident, but her family has contacted the police to investigate.
Emily’s sister Ashley Cheal said her sister is not injured but still shaken from the incident.
“She’s ok,” she told The News. “A bit timid for a while to go outside but she’s back out doing what she loves which is watching cars go by. She was hit in the leg and my mom thinks that she had to have been standing at the time she was hit based on where it hit her in the leg.”
Emily has the mental capacity of someone around three or four years old and the family hopes the police can help them find whoever hurt their daughter. She sustained a minor red mark to her leg.
“The police phoned me and my mom and spoke with us,” Cheal said, noting that her post on a Facebook group gathered a lot of attention and sympathy from users. “They did not give her a case number but they did mention that they would come by and see if the dentist office or any of the businesses might have camera footage.”
“We were so disappointed that this would happen near our home,” Emily’s mother Diane stated to the police. “Luckily neither Emily, nor anyone else in our neighbourhood, was badly injured. Since this happened yesterday, so many community members have come forward to express their care and concern for Emily. Our community support is overwhelming and so very appreciated. Thank you.”
Anyone wanting to reach out to the family and Emily can do so by contacting them at WeLoveEmilyinAbbotsford@gmail.com. The Abbotsford Police Department has also requested that anyone who has information about or witnessed this incident, or who has CCTV or dashcam video of Glenn Mountain Drive at the date and time noted above, can contact them at 604-859-5225.
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