Pregnant Deborah Jimenez, who was hit by a stray bullet, tried to protect the child, afraid to go outside

A pregnant woman hit by a stray bullet in New York this week told The Post how she tried to protect her unborn child during the ordeal — even if it meant keeping herself in the line of fire — as she denounced rampant gun violence that kills innocent. passers-by are in danger.

Deborah Jimenez, 35, was visiting a Birria-Landia taco van on the busy Grand Concourse shopping street in the Bronx with her 11-year-old daughter, aunt and cousin on Monday night when gunshots rang out.

“I turned away when I heard the shots,” recalls Jimenez, who is eight months pregnant, lying in a hospital bed.

“I saw people running and I ran.”

Jimenez didn’t realize she had been shot in her left calf until she saw the blood trickling down her leg. She described the feeling as a “bite” that was not painful at first.

As she began screaming for help, Jimenez was careful not to throw herself on the ground – even if it meant risking being shot a second time – so as not to harm her unborn baby girl.

“If I threw myself on the floor, I would hurt my baby because I would fall to the ground,” she explained by phone Wednesday from St. Barnabas Hospital.

“I didn’t mean to hurt my child.”

Even before emergency personnel arrived on the scene, a police officer from a nearby Marshall’s restaurant jumped up and placed a tourniquet on Jimenez’s leg to stop the bleeding, she said.

Her aunt and daughter also approached her and helped her calm down until the ambulance arrived.

Although Jimenez was grateful that she and those close to her weren’t seriously hurt, she criticized the gun violence that put New Yorkers like her in the crosshairs, calling it “crazy.”

“It’s incredible what’s going on here,” she said. “You can’t even do anything outside.

Ismal, a Birria-Landia worker who was on duty at the time of the shooting, recalled how customers froze in panic when four to six shots were fired.

“I saw a lady…she fell right here [in front of the truck]”, he said of Jimenez, who took shelter between a truck and a car until the Good Samaritan came to her rescue.

“A random guy came to my aid. He said, “Relax, relax, we’re calling 911,” Jimenez said.

Jimenez, who works at a law firm, says she won’t need surgery but is in pain and can hardly walk.

“I’m happy,” Mom said. “God was with me. It could be… my head, my belly [that got shot]”.

She said her daughter, aunt and cousin are “all right”, although she did not allow them to visit her in the hospital.

However, Jimenez longs to reconnect with the man who helped her.

“I wish I could see him and personally thank him,” she said.

While Jimenez’s spirits are high in anticipation of next month’s delivery, she admitted she’s worried about getting back outside.

“I’m nervous going back to the street, but I have to,” she complained.

Ismal, who began working on the Birria-Landia truck in March 2022, agreed with Jiménez that “it’s dangerous here.”

“I pay attention. I look around. You have to do this,” he said, poking his head out of the truck and looking up and down the street, which also has PC Richards, Burlington Coat Factory and Marshalls.

“I’m happy [Jimenez] everything is fine, her baby will be fine and no one has died,” he added.

Jimenez’s employer, Murray Richman of Murray Richman’s law firm, was also relieved to learn that she did not suffer more serious injuries.

“We are very upset that she was shot down,” he told The Post. “It’s just crazy. She is approaching her ninth month. We are concerned about her well-being.”