'It changed my life': Montreal-area woman learning how to walk after being hit by stray bullet

At 24-years-old, Angelique Croteau is learning how to walk again.

She's unsteady, leaning on her father's arm on one side and on a cane on the other.

Just over a month ago, she was lying in her bed in Repentigny, scrolling on her phone when she heard a loud crack and felt a searing pain in her pelvis.

"I threw myself on the ground and when I rolled over I saw the blood on my bed," she told CTV News.

Croteau had been hit by a stray bullet. It led to weeks in the hospital, a surgery and now a recovery where she says she's completely lost her independence.

"It changed my life in an instant," she said.

According to police, early findings show at least one bullet travelled from a lower floor apartment, through at least two floors and into Croteau's bedroom. Marcel Potvin was arrested on weapons charges and was released on Nov. 15 on the condition he attend rehab for substance abuse and surrender his firearms.

Officers told CTV News they found the suspect inebriated in a parked car following the incident.

Croteau's father, Stephane, says seeing the accused being released is discouraging.

"I'm not against guns but I'd like to see stricter measures for owners and more check-ups by police," he said. Potvin is expected back in court in May.

Stephane Croteau with his daugther, Angelique. (Kelly Greig/CTV News)

Angelique said the weeks she spent in hospital were agonizing. Her father recalls that at one point, she was in so much pain she was asking for medically assisted death.

Now that she's home, she says the physical discomfort is far outweighed by the mental.

"Every night when I go to sleep, I think about it," she said.

She hopes to eventually move out from her father's house and both literally and metaphorically get back on her feet again.

She says though at 24, it's an injury that she'll be dealing with for the rest of her life.