Euclid 13-year-old shot in the head is making a miraculous recovery just days before Christmas

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - An unthinkable crime, and a long road to recovery for a 13-year-old boy shot in the head.

The Euclid child was hit by gunfire when more than one dozen shots were fired into his family’s home on December 15th.

His mother who asked that we not use their names because the shooter is still out there, says her son’s recovery is a miracle just days before Christmas.

As the child recovers at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, his mother says he has been moved out of intensive care, he’s alert and even plays X-Box in his hospital room. But, she says the shooting is traumatic, so traumatic her family won’t return to the home, “I heard one gunshot and I’m like this is close. Next thing you know, the (shots) just started coming.”

But, miraculously her 13-year-old son is quickly on the mend after 16 bullets penetrated the family’s East 193rd Street home. His mother tells 19 News, “Yes. He’s definitely a soldier and I’m proud of him. This is the best Christmas gift I could get.”

Initially, paramedics and police didn’t notice her 13-year-old was actually shot in the head, the type of gunshot wound hard to survive. Emergency responders thought that along with his 21-year-old brother, the 13-year-old was just grazed by a bullet, “But, he noticed that he felt something warm running down his neck and it wasn’t until we got to where we are now (the hospital), that they let me know that the bullet was in his head.”

He immediately had to undergo emergency surgery, and the bullet remains in his head. His mother feels he doesn’t fully understand the danger he was in, “He’s doing really well. Like I said he’s walking, he’s talking, he was just acquired an appetite.”

Half of the young boy’s head of hair had to be shaved, and bones removed from his skull because of brain swelling. But, according to his mother, it’s possible he could be out of the hospital by Christmas.

But, this Euclid mother has a message for young people who think guns solve problems, “Guns do not kill, people do, and when you cause this type of trauma to someone’s family, to a loved one, you just have no idea what you have done.”

A Euclid Police detective has now been assigned to the case and will work to determine who’s responsible.

The 13-year-old shooting survivor is expected to make a full recovery once he undergoes another surgery in a few months to get a plate put in his head.

The family says it’s too traumatic to return to that home, so they will relocate.

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