5-year-old loses eye, survives shooting at Athens dance studio

ATHENS, Ga. - Brittanie Wright is cherishing a Mother’s Day miracle after her five-year-old daughter, Ne’Vaeh Brown, survived being hit by bullet fragments on April 26. Ne’Vaeh was at dance practice training with the Dancing Dolls of Athens when the incident happened.

5-YEAR-OLD ATHENS GIRL TO HAVE EYE REMOVED AFTER SHOOTING DURING DANCE CLASS

"I'm just happy she is still here with us," Wright told FOX 5. "It could have been worse."

Wright recalled the moment that can only be described as every mother's worst nightmare.

"Nobody thought ‘I’m at dance practice. A bullet is getting ready to come through the glass,'" she said.

Doctors were forced to remove Ne’Vaeh's eye after two surgeries. Her mother said the pressure split her eyelid and eyeball into pieces.

The young girl now has a support dog and experiences moments of frustration and anger as she gets used to her disability.

Rasheed Scott

The Athens Police Department said 38-year-old Rasheed Scott fired the gun outside the dance studio, shattering the glass and injuring Ne’Vaeh. The bullet fragments struck her from the left side of her face.

The incident has left an emotional scar on the family that runs deep. 

"Guns are nothing to play with. Guns can kill. Guns don't have a bullet to their name," Wright said.