12-year-old shot multiple times in Atlanta may never be the same, mom says

ATLANTA - A 12-year-old boy from Atlanta was rushed to the hospital on Friday after a shooting near the intersection of Martin Luther King Junior Drive NW and Hamilton E. Holmes Drive NW. Investigators are now searching for the person who pulled the trigger.

The boy's mother spoke exclusively with FOX 5 Atlanta. She said his life may never be the same.

"He was basically an innocent bystander that got shot," the boy's mother, who did not want to be named, said.

She told FOX 5 the boy was selling water with his older brother when someone started shooting.

Atlanta police confirmed the 12-year-old was shot multiple times just after 6 p.m.

"They was saying like a car drove by, shot at them," the mother explained. "I’m beyond mad. It’s like I been crying, crying, crying, trying not to cry."

The woman said her youngest son was struck three times. One of the bullets shattered his arm. A second hit him in the stomach, while a third is still lodged near his spine.

Medics rushed him to Egleston Children’s Hospital for treatment.

"They basically saying if the bullet is where his spine is at, 9 times out of 10, he could be paralyzed, 'cause he can’t feel his legs," she said.

Atlanta police did not share additional details about a shooter. The mother told FOX 5 she believes it was a young person who pulled the trigger.

"I think shouldn’t no kids have a gun," she said. "I think no kids should have a gun because they’re doing stuff like this, and I’m just glad my son made it."

She says she won’t rest until she gets justice for her son. Doctors say he has a long road to recovery ahead of him.

In the meantime, the mother says she’s started a GoFundMe to try and cover his medical bills.