'My sister screams my name': Tampa woman who survived shooting testifies in murder trial

TAMPA, Fla. - Nena Mathis remembers the last words her sister screamed just before getting shot.

"As we’re turning the corner, my sister screams my name and that’s when shots are fired, and we crashed," recalled Nena Mathis.

RELATED: Jury selection begins in 2021 murder of Tampa nursing student

She is the star witness in the murder trial of Vakarvery Scott. He’s accused of gunning down Savannah Mathis in a case of mistaken identity.

Pictured: Nena Mathis 

According to prosecutors, on Dec. 1, 2021, the sisters drove to the Oakhurst apartments on N. Delaware Ave. near W. Grace St. in Tampa.

Nena Mathis said she was checking on her ex-boyfriend and circled the neighborhood a few times. Next thing she knew, her sister was screaming, followed by a barrage of gunshots.

READ: Hillsborough man accused of killing mother granted bond in court hearing: Judge

"I see her head tilt to the side and blood was coming out of her mouth," remembered Nena Mathis.

Pictured: Savannah Mathis 

Savannah Mathis had been shot in the head and did not survive her injuries. Nena Mathis was shot in her right leg and later had to have bullet fragments surgically removed from her leg.

While defense attorney Scott Boardman conceded that Vakarvery Scott was the shooter that day, he told the jury he did it to protect others in the neighborhood.

After all, he himself was a victim of gun violence a year earlier that ended a promising football career.

Pictured: Vakarvery Scott

Boardman said Scott was overcharged. He argued that this is not a first-degree murder case.

"So we submit when you hear all the evidence, and you go back to deliberate, you have one decision you could arrive at and that is that he should’ve been charged with manslaughter," said Boardman.

Scott is charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. The trial resumes tomorrow.

SIGN UP: Click here to sign up for the FOX 13 daily newsletter