DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Just as the New Year was about to begin, a woman celebrating in Delray Beach nearly saw her life end.

It was 11:56 p.m. and Heather Leitch was about to toast 2006 when she felt something was terribly wrong.

Images: Woman Hit With Bullet

"My chest was just burning and I was thinking, 'Oh my gosh. What just happened?' And I was thinking, 'Did I get hit with a Champagne cork?'" Leitch said.

But then Leitch noticed blood on her blouse and realized she'd been shot.

"I got really scared and I started thinking, 'Am I going to die sitting here?'" Leitch said.

Leitch was one of two First Night revelers hit by stray bullets shot into the air on New Year's Eve.

She was rushed to the hospital where doctors told her a bullet was lodged one-quarter of an inch from her heart.

"He said, 'Did you play the lotto tonight?' And I said, 'I don't think so.' He said, 'Actually you did and you won.' He's right," she said.

The incident was the third time someone was injured by stray bullets on First Night in Delray Beach.

Police said it's difficult to find the shooters but Mayor Jeff Perlman vowed to end the reckless holiday tradition and get guns off the streets.

"It made my blood boil. It's outrageous," Perlman said. "It's a basic thing you learn in school -- what goes up must come down, and people who think they can shoot things into the air and think they're going to hit the man in the moon and not anyone on the ground, it's ridiculous."

Perlman said he hopes the incident doesn't scare people from First Night.

"You can't alter your lifestyle because you got an irresponsible element out there," Perlman said. "It's just like terrorist incidents. You still have to go out and live your life."

Leitch would not say if she'll return next year. Right now, she's just focused on her recovery.

"I wouldn't want it to happen to anyone," Leitch said. "It was horrible. It was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me."

The second shooting victim wasn't as seriously hurt. A bullet grazed his head but didn't penetrate his skull.

As for Leitch, she has a follow up with a trauma surgeon who will decide whether to remove the bullet from her chest.