A pregnant high school student in Ohio was left paralyzed after she was shot during a robbery, and she is now fighting for her life after sustaining severe injuries.
The incident took place on Saturday, June 6, when Angel and her boyfriend drove to 2550 Greenway Avenue to meet someone they connected with on Snapchat, according to a police report viewed by 13 ABC.
Upon their arrival, the couple was approached by a man dressed in all black. He reportedly held a gun to the boyfriendâs head and demanded money. Police said that the boyfriend tried to wrestle the gun away from the man, who pulled the trigger during the tussle and struck Angel, 18.
âThe guy pulls the trigger, and it hits my daughter in the left arm and goes through her side. Right above the baby â by the grace of God misses the baby â but lodges in her chest,â Angelâs mother, Brandy Jones, told the outlet.
While the bullet missed the baby, Angel was left with severe injuries.
âShe has a spinal fracture at the 12th vertebrae, so sheâs currently paralyzed now. And thatâs going to be difficult enough â because she canât really use her right arm either â and sheâs got a baby on the way,â Jones said.
The incident also forced Angel to go into early labor when she was just 26 weeks pregnant.
Angelâs mother said that the teen is now fighting to survive. âItâs the worst feeling in the world â to see your kid suffering and not being able to do anything about it,â she told the outlet.
No one has been arrested in connection to the shooting and police have not publicly named a suspect. The Toledo Police Department did not immediately respond to Us Weeklyâs request for comment regarding updates in the case.
Following the shooting, Angelâs family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for her medical bills.
âThe bullet shattered Angelâs arm, traveled directly into her chest, and lodged there before surgeons could remove it. The blast injury from the gunfire caused a devastating fracture to her 12th vertebra, leaving her spinal cord severely traumatized,â Jones wrote of Angelâs injuries. âRight now, Angel is completely paralyzed from the waist down with zero movement in her legs. Doctors are entirely unsure if she will ever walk again.â
After sharing that she went into early labor, Jones said that âher medical team has been working around the clock to slow her contractions.â
âWhile they have managed to gap them out, they are treating this as an emergency situation where the baby will likely be born very early,â Jones said. âAngel is being given aggressive medications to rapidly develop her baby boyâs brain and lungs. He currently weighs just 1 pound, 9 ounces. Every single day he stays inside her is a miracle.â
The family said that Angel âis in excruciating pain, but her options for relief are severely restricted because protecting her baby comes first.â
âShe cannot take anti-inflammatories or certain steroids, and her pain medications are strictly limited. She spent half of yesterday on a ventilator in case of emergency surgery,â Jones said. âThough she hasnât been able to eat since Saturday, she is awake and talking.â
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