Philly woman who wrote song about gun violence may lose eye after being shot

Diamond Wilson says someone fired several shots near 59th and Filbert in West Philly as she and a friend were driving by headed to a neighborhood store.

PHILADELPHIA - A woman who wrote a song about gun violence became a victim and may lose her eye after being shot.

"He thinks the dinosaur bit it. That’s his comfort," said 22-year-old Diamond Wilson.

She says it’s the only way her two young sons Kai'Mod and Nur'Mod can understand the scars and bandages on her face. But the harsh reality is she was shot and will likely lose her left eye.

"I will never get vision in that eye because the bullet literally bust the eye open," said Diamond.

She says someone fired several shots near 59th and Filbert in West Philly as she and a friend were driving by headed to a neighborhood store. It happened in the early morning hours of Oct. 7.

"I didn’t think I was going to make it because it sounded so close. I didn’t know where they were coming from and when we turned the bullets entered the car." Diamond says the lasting trauma is real.

"It’s been very, very depressing. It’s been very hard," she says, and nightmares cause her to relive the shooting over and over with no escape.

"You hear gunshots growing up and hear gunshots all day every day. But until it hits you, you don’t hear it the same," said Diamond. She always imagined helping victims of gun violence and educating young people about the danger of it.

As a teen, she was part of a community group called Earth Day Kids. When she was 14, she wrote a song called "Put the Guns to Sleep." FOX 29's Shawnette Wilson interviewed the group in March of 2018 when they were practicing for a performance during Philly's March for Our Lives rally.

"Gun violence is a problem with no solution. It’s a problem with no solution to it and I never thought I’d be the one affected by it, but I thought I’d be able to help someone that was affected by it," she said. She wonders if her shooter is also a victim of some sort of trauma that would cause them to do this.

"People just need help their selves. Like maybe if the guy has been helped, he wouldn’t have did it. Who knows?" said Diamond.

She has had three surgeries so far and many more to go. Police have not made an arrest or released a motive in the shooting.