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

By and FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Published  May 14, 2023 11:41pm EDT
Athens-Clarke County
FOX 5 Atlanta

5-year-old shooting victim has eye removed

A 5-year-old in Athens is now waiting for a prosthetic after having her eye removed as the result of a shooting. A man opened fire into a dance studio where she was practicing. Her mom spoke to FOX 5 about her daughter's long road to recovery.

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.

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(Credit: Dancing Dolls of Athens)

"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

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.