Paterson 17-year-old speaks out after being struck by stray bullet in apartment

PATERSON, N.J. (WABC) -- A teen was grazed when shots were fired into her Paterson apartment Thursday night.

The girl, 17, was struck in her second floor apartment just before 9 p.m. The bullet went through the wall and hit her, injuring the teen.

"I was watching TV and out of nowhere, something just hits me in the back of my head," said the victim, Yessenia Martinon.

It was a bullet that ripped through the second floor of 613 Main Street. Yessenia showed us a picture of the hole it left in the wall inside the apartment, before it left a bloody graze line along her scalp.

"I didn't feel it, but as soon as we saw it, there were bullet holes in the wall. My hair was in a ponytail, cause you can see, the bullet was coming straight to go through my head," she said.

The shots were fired, police say, from clear across the street.

"There was a disturbance at a local tavern, there were shots fired as a result of that," said Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale. "It's an extremely dangerous situation and something we will not stand for."

Police say the block has been a problem area for awhile, with issues at some establishments that contribute to the violence.

"Local taverns have been cited for serving alcohol to minors, and they've accumulated other violations. We now have additional patrols in the area, and have increased them," said Speziale.

Police are trying to track down the shooter, but the close call was too much for one teen's family.

"My aunt's trying to move, since she's having her 3rd kid. This isn't the environment for little kids...I almost died."

Last year in Paterson stray bullets during street violence killed 12 year old Genesis Rincon in July, and 14.

She was alert and conscious when she taken to St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center, about one block away. She has been treated and released.

No arrests were immediately made.