A singer had to move back into her parents' home after she was shot at in a random incident just seconds away from her London flat. Natalie Grey moved to the capital for her music career but was fired at by a stranger during a "gang initiation".
Natalie said that the most "terrifying" thing was the culprit was trying to take her life as part of the gang ritual, reports BerkshireLive. She said: "The end goal was to kill me which was a really hard pill to swallow that someone could just do that for no reason."
"Police informed me it was gang initiation and it was just very bad timing, I was the first person he saw when he pulled out the gun and it was literally 10 seconds from my flat in London. I think that was the more terrifying thing because if he had been trying to mug me or rob me I would know there was a reason.
"Whereas with this the end goal was to kill me which was a really hard pill to swallow that someone could just do that for no reason." The incident left Natalie with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Combined with memories of an abusive relationship that she'd been in when she was young, Natalie set up a podcast with best pal, Farah, where they address the issue of violence against women.
The singer found it difficult to go outside after the shooting incident which took place seven years ago and without that close friendship she would have just locked herself away. She had moved back home to Reading and "just kind of crumbled".
Having previously been in an abusive relationship, old fears and emotions also came to the surface. She said: "All of the old emotions of the fear of men kind of came up and I got diagnosed with PTSD from the gun attack.
"I've been in therapy ever since. Being in therapy kind of brought up anything I'd ever felt. Being seen as a weak woman or being seen as not good enough.
"The weirdest thing was during Covid I had never felt safer because I was locked in my house, I was in a bubble and I didn't have to go out. When lockdown lifted I had a really bad relapse of PTSD and had to go back into therapy quite a bit just to be able to walk past someone down the street."
Following the tragic murder of Sarah Everard, Natalie and Farah felt compelled to speak out about gender violence and created a podcast for those who have experienced abusive relationships.
Following the success of the podcast, Natalie and Farah will be launching a UK-wide tour called Take Back the Beat that will take place this summer. The duo will be raising money for Women's Aid through music and will be visiting Manchester, London, and Brighton.
- The free National Domestic Abuse Helpline is on 0808 2000 247
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