Video: Mother of 2 Year Old Shooting Victim Thankful He’s Alive

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ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI)- He may only be 2 years old, but judging from his reaction to the holes in his shoulder and his back, you could hear the anguish in little Trey’lon McDonald’s voice.

Ashley Garth just stepped into her apartment after asking two of her friends to watch Trey’lon and his little brother Sky’lon last Monday, when suddenly the unthinkable happened.

“A minute after the door closed, I heard gunshots. So when I run outside I looked to the side. I seen my little baby sitting on the sidewalk and when I come back around I seen Trey’lon coming through the park and the girl Felicia had him and she was like, ‘Ashley he’s been shot,” said Garth.

She immediately feared the worst.

“I noticed the hole in his arm, so I kept thinking maybe the bullet just grazed him. But when I felt the blood running down the back of my hand it just really scared me to death cause I’m thinking, you know, was he shot twice? Or is the bullet still in there? I had so many thoughts go through my head,” said Garth.

Authorities quickly rushed Trey’lon to the hospital, where he was airlifted to Jackson. The bullet went through his shoulder and exited out his back. Doctors told Trey’lon’s mother and father the wounds will eventually close and heal, but the emotional scars remain deep.

“I took him out to play and a guy threw a bottle up and it hit the ground and bust and he froze for a second and he shot off running. And then when we get ready to go to a neighbor’s house, he won’t walk. I have to pick him up and tote him there, cause he’s scared,” said Garth.

What Ashley says hurts the most, is the little remorse displayed by alleged shooter Anthony Strong and his family.

“I was receiving phone calls that the guy was like, ‘Oh well, LOL,’ little stuff like, ‘Okay, who cares.’ And it made me very angry at them. I have not yet to receive a phone call saying, is the baby okay or how’s his condition?” said Garth.

But she’s thankful that her son is still alive.

“If I have never felt so proud to have my children I really am now. Because no mother should have to deal with burying their child or their child just being hurt for the rest of their life. So the fact that he’s okay and I’m able to see him walk and just one day be a child again, I am very blessed for that,” said Garth.

Anthony Gary Strong remains in jail charged with the shooting.