BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 When Princess Bowden looks back on the relationship that changed her life, one memory comes to mind.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember him saying, \u2018If I can\u2019t have you, nobody can have you,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Bowden was 22 when she found herself in what she described as a tumultuous relationship that lasted about seven months, but left permanent consequences.<\/p>\n
Three days after she tried to end the relationship, her partner came to her home asking to come inside.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just wanted to come inside for a little while because his mom wasn\u2019t home,\u201d Bowden said. \u201cSo I said OK. He comes in. I\u2019m in the bathroom. He\u2019s in the front room. So I hear a click.\u201d<\/p>\n
When she turned around, Bowden said she saw him holding a sawed-off shotgun pointed at his neck, threatening to kill himself.<\/p>\n
During the confrontation, Bowden said she tried to stop him from reloading the weapon.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I\u2019m telling him not to reload,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s like, whatever you\u2019re saying, I\u2019m [going to] reload. And so it happens, so I got shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bowden was shot during a struggle over the gun, severely injuring her left arm and right hand. Complications and infections to the injured arm eventually led to her deciding to amputate her arm at the shoulder.<\/p>\n
She said her former partner later turned himself in.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe actually came to the hospital and told me he was sorry and that he loved me,\u201d Bowden said. \u201cBut he didn\u2019t receive much time \u2014 about seven or eight months.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Bowden lost her arm, she said she is grateful to have survived \u2014 an outcome not always seen in domestic violence cases.<\/p>\n
According to the City of Bakersfield, homicides linked to domestic violence or interpersonal conflicts make up a larger portion of recent homicide data.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, our community lost 33 lives to homicide,\u201d said Crystal Rubio, manager of the city\u2019s Office of Violence Intervention and Prevention. \u201cRegardless of the circumstances, we have to ask: what is the data telling us, and how can we respond?\u201d<\/p>\n
The city recently received $5 million from the California Office of Violence Prevention to support intervention strategies. According to the Bakersfield Police Department, part of that funding will go toward partnering with Lisa Barao, a criminologist with the University of Pennsylvania\u2019s Crime and Justice Policy Lab.<\/p>\n
Assistant Chief Brent Stratton said the department hopes data analysis and targeted strategies can help reduce violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the resources we have, we\u2019ve been able to make some real reductions,\u201d Stratton said.<\/p>\n
Officials say the partnership will focus on identifying trends in previous domestic violence\u2013related homicides and intervening before situations escalate.<\/p>\n
For Bowden, the message she wants others to hear is simple: leave dangerous relationships when warning signs appear.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to get out of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Now, more than two decades after the shooting, Bowden said she credits her parents\u2019 relationship for helping her recognize something was wrong.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing how a relationship\u2019s supposed to look like \u2014 like my dad and my mom and my aunties and uncles \u2014 it wasn\u2019t,\u201d she said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t feel right. It didn\u2019t look right.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the Open Door Network operates a 24-hour hotline at (661) 327-1091.<\/p>\n
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 When Princess Bowden looks back on the relationship that changed her life, one memory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":214022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,155,153,152,162],"class_list":["post-214021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-downtown","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news","tag-kern-county-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/214022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}