The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A 14-YEAR-OLD boy shot at Englerston Park on Monday suffered gunshot wounds to both lungs and his lower abdomen and was placed in a coma as his family questions the account of what led to the attack.

Deontae Wright, an eighth-grade student at Anatol Rodgers High School, underwent hours of surgery after being shot multiple times by a gunman who allegedly approached him and a female student on a moped asking for marijuana.

His aunt, Christina Johnson, 33, said both of the teenager’s lungs were hit, he suffered two gunshot wounds to his lower abdomen and a graze to his pelvis.

Doctors placed him in a coma to allow his body to rest and heal, she said. His treatment and surgery lasted from about seven hours, when doctors briefed relatives, who were waiting for an intensive care bed to become available and for his condition to stabilise.

As the family waited, Ms Johnson said relatives were still trying to establish why Deontae was shot and questioned whether police had been given the full account of what happened.

Police, who said no one had as yet been arrested in connection with the shooting, reported that the gunman asked Deontae and the girl whether they had marijuana and opened fire after the teenager said no.

Ms Johnson said she did not believe that was the complete account.

“That’s normally the case with every situation,” she said. “You always find out later what really took place.”

She said the family believes something may have happened before the gunfire but does not know whether Deontae knew the alleged shooter.

“The only person that could respond to this is the young lady that he was with,” Ms Johnson said, “and we are trying to find out exactly that from this person.”

She said relatives knew little about Deontae’s relationship with the girl and had only seen pictures of her because the teenager was secretive about the relationship.

Ms Johnson believes jealousy may have played a role, although the family has no confirmed account of what led to the shooting.

“I know that my nephew was very proud of himself,” she said. “He tried to make sure he had what he needed. He’s very well loved in his world, so I believe it had something to do with jealousy and the little girl and him having what he needs.”

She acknowledged that the boy should have been in school when the shooting occurred around 11am and believes he may have been at the park with his girlfriend.

“Kids would be kids. He’s not a bad child,” she said. “I love him because he’s a good boy.”

She said the family was struggling with how a 14-year-old became the victim of such serious violence.

“Kids are gonna be kids, but to have an adult action happen like this to him is very sadden to the family,” she said. “It’s very sadden to us because, from what we know, he’s a very respectable kid. He’s a very loving child and he’s only 14. He looks like a man, he has a built as a man, but he is a little boy.”

Ms Johnson also addressed a video that reportedly showed Deontae crying for help after he was shot. She said she was initially frustrated that someone recorded him instead of helping, although she acknowledged that bystanders may have been afraid.

She said Deontae’s mother has been traumatised by the shooting and relatives are relying on each other as they await his recovery.

“This has never happened to no one really in our family like that,” Ms Johnson said, “so it’s a bit of a shock. We don’t really bother with people. It’s very hard.”

Education Minister Chester Cooper, meanwhile, said the Ministry of Education was hoping for Deontae’s recovery and would provide support to those affected at his school.

Although the shooting did not happen on a school campus, Mr Cooper said such incidents reverberate through the wider school community.

“We seek to offer counseling, guidance, support to the students, their friends, families, and the entire school community,” he said.

Mr Cooper said the ministry has attendance officers who use daily school reports and technology to identify prolonged student absences and follow up with students and their parents. He said the system works “reasonably well”, but its effectiveness also depends on intervention by others.

“The reality is that if you see a student during school hours, not at school, in the community milling about, for example, I think there can be some intervention by the community themselves,” he said.