As the city of Paterson faces a bloody month due to gun violence, gunfire erupted once again in one of the city’s neighborhoods Tuesday afternoon, sending two people to the hospital.

This happened as dozens of people, including family members of gunshot victim Mary Taylor, came together for a vigil in her memory and of those who have died in recent shootings.

The family of Taylor told News 12 that they are not giving up on the investigation into her death even if they have to take it up themselves.

“We are struggling, we take shifts, lifting each other up...One sitting in the living room monitoring the door, because we don’t know if my apartment is a target,” says Taylor’s mom Crystal Woolridee.

The 22-year-old was shot and killed during an apparent drive-by shooting the night of Oct. 1 close to her home near Van Houten Street. Authorities say Taylor was not the intended target.  

“She texted me and told me that her tires were flattened and they left a note on her vehicle. The note said, ‘Mary, someone flatten your tires.’ She texted me and I still have the text on my phone. It was at 7:23 p.m. on Sunday night and two hours later, my daughter was killed -shot in the head with two bullets,” says Woolridee.

Police chased the car involved in the shooting but stopped the pursuit when it became too dangerous.

“My question to whoever authorized to stop [that chase], if it was your child, would you have done the same thing?” asks Woolridee.

The vigil took place just two hours after law enforcement agents responded to another shooting in the area of Watson Street. Mayor Andre Sayegh told News 12 that a woman is in critical condition and a man is stable.

With at least five homicides so far this month, gun violence in Paterson is causing so much pain to those who won’t get to see their loved ones ever again. 

“And while I am here tonight, I have to pick up the clothes for my daughter to wear and go look at her body to see if we are going to have an open or closed casket,” Woolridee says.

Taylor’s funeral services will be held this weekend. No arrests have been made in connection to her death.