Oregon Mall Shooting: Teenage Victim Saw Gunman, Thought It Was a Prank

Kristina Shevchenko, 15, who was injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in Portland, Ore., is shown in this undated photo provided by the Shevchenko family. (Shevchenko family/AP Photo)

A teenager who was shot in the torso during the Oregon mall shooting earlier this month caught a glimpse of the gunman, but said at first she thought it was a prank.

"I didn't even realize to run until everybody was running. There was people screaming, so everybody was running," Kristina Shevchenko, 15, told ABC News affiliate KATU-TV in Portland.

Kristina hid behind a pillar and was then shot as she ran into Macy's on the second floor of the Clackamas Town Center.

"I did feel a huge amount of pressure and pain," she said. "You can't describe what it feels like."

Kristina's friend and a Macy's employee walked her out of the mall, where she was put into a police car while waiting for paramedics.

Shevchenko family/AP Photo

Kristina Shevchenko, 15, who was injured in a... View Full Size

Shevchenko family/AP Photo

Kristina Shevchenko, 15, who was injured in a shooting at a shopping mall in Portland, Ore., is shown in this undated photo provided by the Shevchenko family.

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The teenager was released from the hospital earlier this week and is now able to do most activities on her own, she said.

Jacob Tyler Roberts, 22, armed with a stolen AR-15 semi-automatic weapon, killed two people in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland on Dec. 11, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

His shooting victims were identified as Cindy Ann Yuille, 54, and Steven Mathew Forsyth, 45.

Kristina was the only other person hit in the shooting, which also marked her second brush with death in recent months.

On Aug. 5, Shevchenko was riding in a full-size Ford van driven by her sibling Emiliya Shevchenko, 27, and six other people in Vancouver, Wash., when a Ford Ranger veered into their lane and crashed into them head on, according to The Colombian.

The impact killed the other driver, Alberto Perez Garcia, 25, and Emiliya Shevchenko had to be extricated from the van. Kristina survived the crash.

Despite the hurdles, Kristina remained upbeat.

"It's a miracle I am recovering as quick as I am from all my injuries," she told KATU. "A lot of people were praying and keeping me and my family in their thoughts. That does have a big impact."