DeKalb woman, 78, survives overnight barrage as gunmen spray home with bullets

Home of 78-year-old DeKalb woman 'shot up'

An 78-year-old grandmother said she dove for the floor in the wee-hours of Thursday morning when bullets started flying through her windows.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A 78-year-old DeKalb County woman says she is grateful to be alive after her home was sprayed with bullets early Thursday morning as she slept.

What we don't know:

Mary Depass, who has lived in her home near Chapel Hill Middle School for more than 20 years, says she was jolted awake around 2:30 a.m. by the sound of gunfire erupting outside.

"Lord, please protect me. Keep me safe. I have so much to live for," Depass said, recalling the moment she began praying as shots rang out.

A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured what appeared to be four to five men walking down the driveway before opening fire. Nearly a dozen gunshots can be heard before a group of about four people is seen running toward a parked car.

Watch the shooting happen

Security footage shows moments an elderly woman's home shot up

A 78-year-old DeKalb County woman says she feared for her life early Thursday morning when gunfire erupted outside her home near Chapel Hill Middle School.

Depass says the gunfire was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

"I jumped out of bed and laid on the floor and threw myself under the bed," she said. "I kind of hit my face a little and waited until it stopped — and started praying."

When daylight arrived, the extent of the damage became clear.

Depass’s son, Fred Williams, walked FOX 5 through the home, pointing out shattered windows riddled with bullet holes.

"Every window in the front has bullet holes in it," he said. "Every window. One, two, three, four — and they’re all going this way."

Inside the home, bullets tore through walls, ceilings, and furniture. A guest bedroom also suffered significant damage.

Depass, a retired educator who spent 40 years in the school system and marched for civil rights in the early 1970s, says the violence is heartbreaking.

"Our hope was for a better future for young people," she said. "And to see these young people doing things of this sort… they need help."

The family says the group of shooters left behind bags of marijuana at the scene. They hope DNA evidence will help police identify those responsible.

Depass also says she has security cameras on her home but believes the men may have used a Wi-Fi blocker, preventing her system from capturing the incident.