Three Gun Shots, Four Victims

Lucky or Unlucky?

A 16-year-old girl was flown in by helicopter after being shot in the chest. The bullet went down trough her lung, diaphragm, spleen and a rib. It ended up just under the skin of her flank. She needed an operation and would have a tough time recovering but, when you think of all the important things the bullet missed as it passed through her, she was pretty lucky, given the bad luck she had being shot in the first place.

Arrested for Stealing a Wheelchair

An 18-year-old man came in to be evaluated for a gunshot wound to his foot. He refused to say what happened to him. An x-ray was ordered but he left before it was done.

Police later brought him in when he was found being pushed down the sidewalk by his friends in a wheelchair they had stolen from the emergency department during the first visit.

X-rays showed a bullet in his foot and two bones fractured. He was discharged to custody after arrangements were made for him to get needed orthopedic care in jail.

Who Was She Trying to Shoot?

A 16-year-old girl was lying in bed with a 32-year-old man. They were cuddled up and the girl, who was three months pregnant, had her leg thrown up over his back. The girl’s mother came in with a gun and shot at them. The bullet went through the girl’s thigh and into the man’s back.

In these cases, I focus on taking care of the medical issues and don’t get into the social details so I never learned who the mother wanted to shoot or if the man was the father of the girl’s unborn baby.

The girl and the man were both found to have minor injuries and were discharged.