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Abbotsford woman with developmental disabilities shot with paintball, sparking police probe

Emily recovering after incident, email address available to send well wishes
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Abbotsford resident Emily is recovering after being shot with a paintball on Monday afternoon. (Submitted)

An Abbotsford family is looking for answers after their 32-year-old daughter with developmental disablities was shot in the leg with a paintball on Monday afternoon.

Emily is well known on east Abbotsford’s Glenn Mountain Drive for sitting outside and watching the cars drive by in her chair. She is non-verbal and is unable to provide details of the incident, but her family has contacted the police to investigate.

Emily’s sister Ashley Cheal said her sister is not injured but still shaken from the incident.

“She’s OK,” Cheal told The News. “A bit timid for a while to go outside but she’s back out doing what she loves which is watching cars go by. She was hit in the leg and my mom thinks that she had to have been standing at the time she was hit based on where it hit her in the leg.”

Emily has the mental capacity of someone around three or four years old and the family hopes the police can help them find whoever hurt their daughter.

“The police phoned me and my mom and spoke with us,” Cheal said, noting that her post in a Facebook group gathered a lot of attention and sympathy from users.

“They did not give her a case number but they did mention that they would come by and see if the dentist office or any of the businesses might have camera footage.”

Anyone wanting to reach out to the family and Emily can do so by contacting them at WeLoveEmilyinAbbotsford@gmail.com.

READ MORE:Bear spotted in Glenn Mountain neighbourhood in Abbotsford

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