Mother caught in crossfire during deadly shooting is thankful she is alive
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV/KSMO) — A mother of eight is thankful to be alive after her van was caught in the crossfire during a deadly shooting near a Kansas City gas station on Thanksgiving night.
Danielle Benson says her young son and older brother were inside the store when someone opened fire outside of the Troost Market in Kansas City, Missouri. She ducked for cover inside her van.
“In my head I was like, ‘Is this it?” Benson said. “Am I going to see my children again?’”
Each of the bullet holes in her van are a reminder of what could have happened when she stopped at the gas station just before 11 p.m. Thanksgiving night.
“There were bullets going in and out of the car,” Benson said.
She is grateful her eight children were not inside the vehicle at the time. She says one bullet went through an empty car seat. Several more bullets pierced through her windshield and back window.
When police arrived Thanksgiving night, they found a man with gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital but did not survive.
“I’m just praying for the family that lost their loved one,” Benson said. “Just praying for them.”
She tells KCTV5 News she also prayed that night that she would not be shot.
“Just sitting in the driver’s seat and just seeing bullets just flying through my car is traumatizing,” Benson said. “I couldn’t get down no further. There’s no question God protected me. The angels protected me.”
Because of all of the damage from gunfire, she says she is unable to use her van to drive to work or to the grocery store. Benson says their liability insurance will not cover the damages. Even without transportation, she says she feels fortunate she’s alive to be with her children.
“I’m just happy I made it home to them,” Benson said. “To my husband. To my family.”
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