Clergy and others pray with the family members during a vigil on Bourbon and Canal streets in New Orleans, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, for 14 people killed in a terror attack on New Year’s Day. (Staff photo by Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune)
Alexis Scott-Windham stands with her friends on Bourbon Street before Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove through crowds on the street and opened fire, injuring Scott-Windham and dozens others on New Years Day 2025.
Clergy and others pray with the family members during a vigil on Bourbon and Canal streets in New Orleans, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, for 14 people killed in a terror attack on New Year’s Day. (Staff photo by Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune)
A Bourbon Street attack survivor received a time off request from her job at an Amazon distribution facility after the denial of her initial request generated a heap of online criticism about the ecommerce giant.
Alexis Scott-Windham, a 23-year-old from Mobile, was out on Bourbon Street with her friends in the early hours of New Year’s Day when Shamsud-Din Jabbar plowed a truck through the crowds in what authorities are investigating as a terrorist attack.
She was standing on the sidewalk when the truck ran over her foot and she was shot. The bullet still remains in her foot, along with multiple fractures, she said.
But when she asked the Amazon fulfillment center she works at for time off to recover from injuries, the company originally denied the request, she told the Times-Picayune last week. The denial created an online firestorm for the company, with social media posts about it garnering thousands of likes and comments on X, and “Amazon” trending on social media platform Bluesky.
Less than 24 hours later, Amazon released a statement saying the company got in touch with Scott-Windham and changed course on the denial.
“We’ve reached out to Ms. Scott-Windham to offer her our full support, including pay, as she recovers from this senseless act of violence,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in the statement. “We wish her a full recovery and look forward to welcoming her back to work once she’s able.”
Alexis Scott-Windham stands with her friends on Bourbon Street before Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove through crowds on the street and opened fire, injuring Scott-Windham and dozens others on New Years Day 2025.
Scott-Windham said Monday that she was contacted by the company’s regional human resources director, who apologized for the denial and offered paid time off as well as a counselor to assist her. She said she’s thankful to Amazon for the reversal, as well as the flood of messages from strangers wishing her support.
One person even offered to pay for her daughter’s birthday party, as she’ll be turning 2 later this month.
“Just to see people fight for me when they don’t even know me, it just warms my heart,” Scott-Windham said. “Because they didn’t have to.”
Scott-Windham created a GoFundMe to assist with the cost of medical expenses. She was told to see an orthopedist two weeks after the attack to check on her foot, but the pain from her wound has lingered, so she plans to see a doctor Tuesday instead.
Email Lara Nicholson at lnicholson@theadvocate.com.
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