Jessica Ghawi, Aurora Shooting Victim, Survived Toronto Shooting

by Emily Sutherlin | July 20, 2012 at 09:55 am

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Jessica Ghwai, an aspiring sportscaster who cheated death at a Toronto shopping mall shooting last month is one of the 12 dead in the Colorado movie massacre.

Jessica Ghawi, a 24 year old aspiring sportscaster, was watching “The Dark Knight Rises” with long-time friend Brent Lowack when a gunman opened fire minutes into the midnight premiere.

She was shot twice, once in the head, her family said.

The young woman was attending the movie with a pal she had convinced to accompany her, Twitter posts show.

Lowak said he and Jessica were sitting in the middle of the theater when it filled with smoke from a device that was thrown into the crowd, according to an account of the shooting posted by Ghawi's brother, Jordan Ghawi, on his blog.

The friends dropped to a prone position to take cover from the spray of bullets.

"Brent then heard Jessica scream and noticed that she was struck by a round in the leg. Brent began holding pressure on the wound and attempted to calm Jessica. It was at this time that Brent took a round to his lower extremities. While still administering first aid, Brent noticed that Jessica was no longer screaming," Jordan Ghawi wrote.

In Jessica's final blog post, she said her brush with death made her acutely aware of the fragility of life.

“I was reminded that we don’t know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath,” she wrote.

“I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.”