WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 37-year-old man is in critical condition after being shot in the face during a carjacking at a Detroit gas station earlier this month.
Watch Jolie Sherman's video report:
Orgelis Cedeno was dropping off a package at a Citgo gas station on Woodward Avenue when an armed man demanded his keys. Cedeno's wife, Deryl Gabriella Hernandez, was on FaceTime with him when the attack occurred.
"So he called her at around 7:30, and he was saying I’m going to stop at the gas station because I need to put some gas," Hernandez's interpreter said.
Hernandez said her husband was walking back to his car to fill up when the suspect approached.
"He slowly said, ' Give me your keys, so he handed the keys over, and that’s when he also shot him, after giving him the keys," Hernandez said.
Hernandez heard the gunshots over the phone. She says her husband was hit in the mouth before the suspect stole his car.
"I honestly thought that he was going to die because he fell to the floor, and he looked really, really bad. He looked terrible," Hernandez said.
Detroit police told me they are actively investigating the incident and working with state partners to search for the suspect, who remains on the run.
Meanwhile, Cedeno is still in the hospital. He has already had three surgeries and remains in critical condition.
"It’s going to be a very, very long recovery. He has a lot of stitches inside his mouth. He can’t eat; he can’t drink," Hernandez said.
Hernandez said her husband will have to relearn how to speak due to his injuries, but she is holding onto hope.
"What he tells him is to just be strong, that he is a very wonderful father and a very wonderful partner, and that she has hope and faith they’re going to get through this, and she’s not going to leave this hospital until she takes him out walking again," Hernandez said.
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