An auto body shop owner created a space where female customers would feel comfortable. Then one came in and shot her.

Working in the auto body repair business, Vanessa “Hollywood” Rivera saw how uncomfortable some female customers can feel dealing with mechanics. So when the mother of two decided to start her own shop, Rivera went to great lengths to create a space that was welcoming to women.

She arranged for the sign outside Hollywood Collision in the 100 block of West Erie Avenue to be a hot pink color. Inside, Rivera set up a wine bar and a waiting room decorated with magenta metallic pillows and a green, leaf-covered wall. As a result, it looks more like a place to take a selfie than where you’d sit while your car is serviced. “I wanted to create a different approach to auto body work where people felt comfortable and safe, no matter if they were a woman or not,” Rivera told me.

She never dreamed that one day she’d be shot there — and by another woman, no less. On Aug. 17, a female customer allegedly got into a loud verbal dispute with a front-office employee that prompted Rivera to come running to find out what was happening. A scuffle ensued. A gun went off. Riviera had been hit. She fell to the floor. Luckily, the bullet entered her right leg above the knee and exited without causing any major damage. “It’s just really unfortunate because we’re a women-owned business and it was a woman,” she said.

I’m glad she’s still in the game. She has come too far and invested too much into the business to let a gun-toting customer stop her. Every time I think about it, I get mad all over again.

As we stood in the reception area and talked, I found myself staring at a bullet hole in the desk and another in the wall. They are stark reminders about what happened, and how easily the day could have had a tragic ending. Olivia Redding, 21, is facing a host of charges including aggravated assault, robbery, reckless endangerment, and criminal trespassing.

Gun violence may be way down in Philadelphia, but what happened to Rivera is an example of how it continues to take a heavy toll on the city. Every shooting incident leaves an indelible scar. As Darin Toliver, a cofounder of the Black Men at Penn School of Social Work, pointed out when we talked about what happened, people need to learn how to better deal with their emotions instead of reaching for weapons. “A lot of times, people lack the ability to control themselves in certain situations.”

So the question becomes, he added: “How do we engage each other without becoming so violently disagreeable? That’s where we need to start focusing … We have to figure out the best way to deal with this.”

Rivera coped with the shooting by getting herself back into therapy and also returning to work. Originally from New York, she moved to Philadelphia 22 years ago. After she became a single mother and found herself in need of work, a neighbor told her about an opening at a collision shop. “I just started off as a secretary answering the phones, and then I kind of learned parts and estimating and management,” Rivera recalled. “I really didn’t receive any fair or equal pay in my industry, so I decided to start Hollywood Collision, and we’ve been very successful thus far.”

She used her savings to open her first shop in 2015 in the 4800 block of Duffield Street in Frankford. Rivera pretty much started with nothing. “I managed to get a little rhythm, and I began to buy the equipment and the things that I needed as time went by,” she added.

Then, two years ago, she expanded to a considerably larger facility nearby on West Erie Avenue but still operates her original shop. “This is a big project for me. I invested a lot into this place.”

Rivera is part of a small but growing group of female car care owners in an industry long dominated by men. She’s not going to let a shooting stop her.