A 9-year-old boy who was shot four times during a drive-by shooting in Atlanta while making TikToks with his siblings is now recovering at home, his mother said.
"He's here, so that's a blessing," Keyona Carson, the mother of Javonni Carson, told NBC News. "He's 9 years old, taking shots. He didn't deserve this."
According to an incident report from the Atlanta Police Department, officers were dispatched to Flat Shoals Avenue in East Atlanta after gunfire erupted in a nearby parking lot on Wednesday night. Several cars were struck by gunfire and two other people unrelated to Carson were shot, but also survived. Officers recovered 42 shell casings from the scene, but the shooter has not yet been identified.
Carson's mother said her son was with his father, Jarvis Denton Wise, his 14-year-old sister, Paris Wise, and 11-year-old brother, Jarvis Wise Jr., making videos when someone drove by "and shot into the crowd."
"My other two kids were there, too, and they saw everything," Carson said. "I'm really at a loss for words and the fact that I wasn't there to help makes it harder."
Javonni underwent surgery to have the bullets removed and to repair his shattered femur, Carson said. Although he is recovering at home, he is having trouble moving — which is an especially painful obstacle, given that he is an aspiring football player. She expects that Javonni will begin physical therapy in two weeks.
The shooting has not only taken a physical toll on her son, but an emotional one as well, she said.
"He and his siblings have to get counseling," Carson said. "He's afraid. 42 shells. It's a lot for any kid to have to witness."
The shooting occurred days after 8-year-old Secoriea Turner was shot and killed while riding in a car with her mother near the Wendy's where a police officer killed Rayshard Brooks. Turner's parents are pleading for witnesses with any information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of her killers to come forward and are offering a $50,000 reward to those with information, according to The Atlanta Journal- Constitution.
