For University of Houston student Abigail\u00a0Trujillo, the answer came Friday at Houston City Hall: a new car.<\/p>\n
Houston Mayor John Whitmire joined Trujillo after vowing to replace her Nissan Altima, which police riddled with bullets during a July standoff in Highland Village, weeks after the city initially told her it was not liable for the damage.<\/p>\n
“I’m very grateful, I’m feeling blessed,” Trujillo said outside City Hall next to the mayor Friday.<\/p>\n
“I can’t wait to watch Abigail get in her new car,” Whitmire said. “She’s a very bright student,\u00a0Houstonian, and an example of Houston’s future, which means we’re in great hands!”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Houston Police Officers’ Union also assisted in covering the existing note on Trujillo’s previous vehicle.<\/p>\n
When asked where she’d go first in the new car, the 20-year-old told Chron, “My job!”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Trujillo was working at a retail store on July 6 when her parked car was caught in the crossfire between Houston police and the driver of a reportedly stolen vehicle,\u00a0according to ABC13<\/a> and the Houston Chronicle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Police said officers found the stolen car in the Highland Village area before a standoff with the driver, identified as Jamarcus Spates. Witness video showed the driver opening the car door and extending an object outside before officers fired their weapons.<\/p>\n Spates was grazed and survived, according to ABC13. Trujillo\u2019s car, which was parked beside the stolen vehicle, was left heavily damaged.<\/p>\n