A Philadelphia student is saddened after his opportunities to attend senior prom and graduation were stripped by his school chief administrator.
Dashawn Walker was shot on Feb. 21 as he was walking home from school in North Philadelphia. He was less than a block away from home when the shooter hopped out of a gray Nissan and opened fire.
He was shot 10 times and a 13-year-old girl was also shot once in the arm by a stray bullet, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Nine of the bullets shattered bones in both of Walker’s legs and the 10th bullet ripped through his intestines. One of the bullets still remain somewhere in his body but doctors couldn’t find it.
He was 17 at the time of the shooting.
Walker was in coma for two days at Temple University Hospital and then spent a week in the intensive care unit. In total, Walker spent a month at Temple and a month at Shriner’s Hospital for Children’s rehabilitation center.
Walker had to learn to walk again and his legs are held together with metal rods. He had more a dozen surgeries and lived with a colostomy bag for three months. He says he still struggles with anxiety, depression, and nightmares.
In addition to his long recovery process and missing a good portion of his senior year, Walker was not able to experience two of the best moments of his teenage years. He was stripped of the opportunity of attending prom and graduation by the top official of his high school. He attended Mathematics, Civics and Sciences Charter School.
Veronica Joyner, the school’s founder and chief administrative officer, became concerned after watching the news the day after the shooting. She didn’t understand why someone would shoot Walker and heard the police captain say he was a “target,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Joyner said she gathered the board immediately and decided it would be best if he didn’t return to the school for in-person learning or school events,…
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