WILLOWBROOK : Girl, 12, Shot in Prank Still on Critical List
A 12-year-old girl shot through the chest in an April Fool’s prank at a Willowbrook church school remained strapped to a hospital bed backboard Thursday as doctors and family members waited anxiously to learn whether she is permanently paralyzed.
Shameka Fletcher was in critical but stable condition at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, and doctors planned more tests to determine the spinal damage caused by the shooting.
Earlier, surgeons removed one of her kidneys and discovered possible liver damage from the 9-millimeter bullet fired by a 10-year-old boy. The unidentified youngster had brought his uncle’s pistol to the New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church Elementary School as a joke on Wednesday.
Church Pastor Lonnie Dawson said seven counselors were summoned to the school Thursday to discuss the incident with classmates who saw the shooting.
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