A model who was shot at a T.I. concert in New York plans to sue the NYPD after 'heartless' officers allegedly interviewed her while she was being rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
Maggie Heckstall, 26, was in the VIP section at Irving Plaza on Wednesday when a gunman burst in and opened fire, leaving one dead and three injured.
A stray bullet struck the model in the leg and she was taken to hospital, but she claims cops tried to interview her in the back of an ambulance
She told the New York Post that officers would not stop interrogating her as doctors cut her clothes off so they could treat her.
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Maggie Carrie Heckstall, the 26-year-old model who was shot in the leg after a shooting broke out at a T.I. concert earlier this week, claims she is being harassed by the NYPD
Emel McDowell, Heckstall's lawyer, said NYPD officers have denied her family visitation rights as they stand guard outside her room at the Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan (pictured)
Earlier this week, Heckstall's lawyer, Emel McDowell, claimed the NYPD had denied her family visitation rights and were standing guard outside her room at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.
The attorney sent the police a cease-and-desist letter, but now the model plans on suing the force.
Heckstall says she did not see the shooter and that her only thought after being shot was how she would escape.
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Share 79 sharesBut still, she claims, NYPD officers refuse to leave her alone and are pestering her for more information.
'Anytime anyone would walk to my [hospital] door, they had six officers out here, staring into my room,' she told the Post. 'I'm a girl. I've never been shot. I've never been hospitalized. I've never had surgery.
'I cooperated with the officers. I don't know if they wanted me to tell them more, but I don't know what happened. Shots went off. Lights went off. I just tried to get out the room.'
Heckstall was celebrating her 26th birthday backstage at the concert when she was hit by a stray bullet during the chaos that left one man dead and two others wounded
Aspiring rapper Troy Ave, whose real name is Roland Collins, is facing charges of attempted murder and gun violations after opening fire at the Irving Plaza concert hall on Wednesday night
Huckstall's boyfriend, rapper Maino, was the concert's opening act. He has since denied claims that he and Collins had a 'rapper rivalry', posting this picture of the two of them in a show of solidarity
The model said investigators 'are heartless' as she accused them of harassing her.
'The interrogation started in the ambulance. The detective was in the trauma unit the whole time, while they're cutting my clothes off and everything,' she said.
McDowell told Heckstall, an aspiring musician from Jersey City, is not under investigation or in custody for any crime.
'She didn't ask for police protection,' he added. 'She's obviously a victim in this. They're making her life worse by doing this.'
McDowell's firm also plans to file a claim against those responsible for the shooting, including the music venue.
Heckstall is currently recovering from surgery in the intensive care unit after doctors left the bullet and implanted a rod in her leg.
She was in the green room when a man - believed to be Brooklyn rapper Troy Ave - walked in and opened fire.
Ave, whose real name is Roland Collins, is believed to be seen on surveillance footage firing a handgun.
His security guard, Ronald McPhatter, 33, was shot dead.
Christopher Vinson, 34, was shot in the chest and is now in stable condition.
Collins allegedly shot himself in the leg with a 9mm handgun during the gun battle.
He was arrested on Thursday at a Manhattan hospital. Authorities said there is no evidence that Collins killed the 33-year-old McPhatter.
The rapper has been charged with attempted murder, suggesting police believe there was another shooter.
Surveillance footage at Irving Plaza captured the moment the gunman, believed to be aspiring rapper Troy Ave, stormed into the backstage VIP area
The gunman stopped and aimed the weapon at someone who is not pictured within the scope of the camera, and fired one shot
A gunshot rang out as revelers dived for cover and a woman was heard screaming in pain
After pulling the trigger, the gunman is then seen in the video running with a man following close behind
The model's boyfriend, rapper Maino, was the opening act for the concert.
Sources earlier claimed that Collins and Maino had an 'ongoing rap rivalry', a rumor Heckstall's boyfriend immediately shot down, posting a picture of himself and Collins on Instagram.
Maino said the shooting was 'absolutely not' due to him or anyone in his entourage.
'For the last 5 years Troy Ave, his team and I have had a great working relationship,' Maino wrote on the picture's caption.
'Not only have we performed and done several songs together but we've had many personal conversations about life our goals and efforts as musicians.'
'Despite media reports to the contrary, there are no "ongoing beefs" or "entourage issues"'.
Surveillance video allegedly captured Collins bursting into the green room at the back of the Manhattan venue with two other men before firing a handgun.
'He came into the area they were in...She just heard the shots,' McDowell said. 'It was initially three, four shots, then another shot, then four more - pop, pop, pop.'
'She felt the burning sensation, then started screaming and hit the ground.'
Heckstall can be heard screaming 'My leg, my leg!' in cell phone footage that shows men and women running and ducking for cover as gunshots rang out.
Rapper T.I (center) is seen alongside Anderson .Paak (left) backstage before his show at Irving Plaza in New York. His performance was cancelled before he could make it onto the stage
Ronald McPhatter, 33, (left and right) was fatally shot in the stomach during Wednesday night's shooting
Christopher Vinson, 34, was shot in the chest. Police said he was in a stable condition on Thursday
Collins regularly tweeted about guns, and once said he would 'rather accidentally get a b***h pregnant than catch a gun charge'.
In another tweet, Collins wrote: 'U shouldnt Carry A Gun If u are scared 2 Use It. You'll only end up hurting yourself or a Innocent Person Real Talk.'
He also posted: 'Man i jus had a Nightmare that i got arrested with a Gun, i was mad upset.'
Collins also wrote that he was regularly told as a child to not carry a weapon, but other tweets about firearm laws suggest he was against restrictions on gun ownership.
Investigators say it doesn't appear T.I. was involved in the dispute.
The rapper released a statement lamenting the shooting on Instagram on Thursday.
'My heart is heavy today. Our music is intended to save lives, like it has mine and many others.'
'My heartfelt condolences to the family that suffered the loss & my prayers are with all those injured. Respectfully, Tip.'
T.I. sent the above tweet on Thursday afternoon in reference to the fatal shooting at Irving Plaza
Cell phone footage shows the chaos that unfolded after shots were fired inside a concert venue where rapper T.I. was performing. One person was killed and three people were wounded in the shooting
Gunshots can be heard on video taken using a cell phone in a small area backstage. T.I was getting ready for his set when the gun shots rang out
Video shot inside the venue showed a chaotic scene as concert-goers rushed to the sides in an attempt to leave the area as a group of people tended to a person on the floor.
'We saw, like, two people up on the VIP arguing, and then everybody started running because they heard the shots,' one witness told CBS2.
'It was terrifying. We just kept running with everybody else because they were running for their lives, so we just started running, and I fell, and I got stomped on a little bit. My shoe came off.'
Another witness told the station: 'We had no idea where it was coming from, so we just were running out for the exit, you know, anywhere we possibly could.'
Representatives for T.I., whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., said they were referring all questions about the shooting to police.
In 2006, shots were fired at a show the rapper performed at in Cincinnati during which his friend and personal assistant Philant Johnson was killed.
Collins regularly tweeted about guns, and once said he would 'rather accidentally get a b***h pregnant than catch a gun charge'
Collins' arrest came a few hours before New York City's police commissioner Bill Bratton called rap artists 'basically thugs'.
The city's top cop slammed rappers' actions in a WCBS radio interview as footage emerged of the chaos that unfolded as the shots were fired inside Irving Plaza.
'The crazy world of these so-called rap artists who are basically thugs that basically celebrate violence they did all their lives,' Bratton said.
'Unfortunately, that violence often times manifests itself during their performances.'
He added: 'The background of a lot of these young people, they are significant artists in that world... but unfortunately the lifestyles that they lived... often time follows them into the entertainment world and the success they have in it.'
Hours later Bratton walked back on his comments, saying he was speaking about 'thugs who call themselves rap artists' and not rappers in general.
He also said that rap is 'an important vehicle for storytelling' in modern America, adding that 'gangster rap' has often overshadowed its most important messages.
Police said metal detectors were set up at Irving Plaza, a 1,025-person ballroom-style music venue, but witnesses said security getting into the concert was lax.
Mayhem ensued inside the venue after gunshots rang out, causing panicked concertgoers to flee for safety
This image taken from a video shows chaotic scenes of concertgoers inside Irving Plaza after the deadly shooting
People are seen standing outside Irving Plaza on Wednesday night
At the time of the shooting, at least 1,000 people were reportedly inside the venue
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