Volunteers give Be Safe whistles to homeless in Asheville after woman shot in face

By Kristen Aguirre

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    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — Volunteers are stepping up their outreach after a homeless woman was shot in the face with pellets from an airsoft gun earlier this week.

The incident happened about 2 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 19, in a parking lot on Patton Avenue in Asheville.

“Even when we’re out with our medic team doing street outreach, we will have people hurl insults in the direction of our friends on the street. It breaks our hearts,” BeLoved Asheville’s Amy Cantrell said.

Cantrell said she’s seen firsthand the treatment homeless people face on the streets.

“It’s just heinous. I can’t imagine, and I want to reach out and protect people that we know and love,” she said.

Cantrell and her team doing that by handing out Be Safe whistles.

“We want to provide these whistles, these safe whistles,” Cantrell said. “These are something people can carry right on them, and, if they think someone is going to try to hurt them, they can alert other people around them. Good neighbors will come to their aid.”

The whistles are a direct response to the shooting Tuesday morning.

“She was outside of this place, and there was a car that came by and just shot her,” Cantrell said.

Asheville police said they recovered nearly 50 pellet rounds from the scene.

“Her whole face was hurt,” Cantrell said. “She had serious injuries that were treated at the hospital.”

The shooter was in what was described as a dark color, two-door sedan. Anyone with information on this case should click here, text TIP2APD to 847411, or use the TIP2APD smartphone app. You can also share information by calling 828-252-1110.

The shooting this week is not the first incident involving a vehicle and a homeless person in Asheville.

“This was a heinous act on our sister and this is the second attack of this kind this year that could of lead to death,” Cantrell said, referring to another attack on a homeless man and his cat in May.

“We know these are the most vulnerable people in our community. So, we want to make sure that they have the protection of the community,” Cantrell said.

The National Coalition for the Homeless has recorded nearly 500 homicides since 1999, Cantrell said.

“It’s really important as humans, we love and care for each other and are passionate,” she said.

Cantrell is calling on the community to listen for the whistles and other calls for help.

“Certainly, this is when they’re more vulnerable because there’s less people around,” Cantrell said.

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