Since 2013, Kathy Shorr has been traveling the U.S. photographing survivors of gun violence. Some of them were injured in mass shootings, others by their spouses, and still others by accident. But Shorr wanted to share more than images, she also wanted to share their stories. That's why subjects were asked to describe how they were wounded—and photographed in the place they were shot. “Most of these locations are banal and 'normal' places we all visit: shopping centers, places of entertainment, church, neighborhood streets, movie theaters, etc.” Shorr said. “Gun violence is now something that most of us have a connection to.” She added that she doesn’t want her work to be divisive, saying that many of the survivors portrayed are gun owners. SHOT is more of a catalog of scars, both emotional and physical. “I hope to get people to start talking about what we have in common,” she said.
Where the Bullets Go
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Sara: Shot when she was 13 years old by a man who stole her mom’s car while she was inside it. He drove her to a field and raped her, then had her kneel down and count to ten before attempting to execute her in Kenner, Louisiana, in 1994. #
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At left, Shirley: Shot by her ex-husband while picking up her daughters at nursery school. He had two guns and shot her 14 times. The ex-military man was released on $25,000 bail to await a hearing in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2014. At right, Ryan: Shot in the hand, losing a finger and crippling two other fingers, as he sat in his car talking to his ex-girlfriend in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 2014. #
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Karina: Shot at the age of 16, the unintended victim of a drive-by-shooting, while standing with a group of friends outside of her high school in Aurora, Colorado, in 2010. #
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Brian: Shot by a man who opened fire at LAX airport security officers. One person was killed and several people were injured in Los Angeles International Airport in 2013. #
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Aniyah: Shot as she was sitting in her family’s car when she was six years old. Young men opened fire on the Brooklyn street and four bullets hit the vehicle, one hitting her leg in New York, in 2006. #
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Phillip: Shot in the throat by his ex-son-in-law, who also killed Philip's wife and left one of his daughters paralyzed. In total, three people were killed and three injured before the gunman killed himself in Lockport, Louisiana, in 2013. #
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At left, Shanessa: Shot by her sister’s boyfriend in 2014. Later, friends of the shooter shot Shanessa again in her face and hand in an attempt to silence her testimony in Newport News, Virginia, in 2015. At right, Jon: Shot in the face and blinded by a wanted man who had just murdered two people. The police sergeant’s face shield malfunctioned in Belleville, Illinois, in 2006. #
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Prince: Shot when trying to help his uncle who was involved in a fight. Someone came from behind, attempted to rob him and then shot him three times in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2013. #
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Laura: Shot point blank by a shotgun in the stomach by her about-to-be-ex-husband, a former Marine and ex-Arkansas police officer. She laid on the floor, begging for him to call 911, after he could not pull the trigger to kill himself. Eventually he did; she bled out on the way to the hospital and was given a one-percent chance of survival in Houston, Texas, in 2009. #
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Jewelz: Shot after picking up takeout at a Miami restaurant. The shooter had argued with the restaurant owner earlier in the day and came back to kill her, shooting Jewelz in the process. The police believed Jewelz was the shooter and he was handcuffed at the hospital until the owner, in her last words, asked, “How is my customer?” in Miami, Florida, in 2006. #
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