Teen severely injured in stray bullet shooting shares message for shooter
By Jennifer Bisram
Click here for updates on this story
NEW YORK (WCBS) — A teenage basketball player is trying to stay hopeful as he recovers from a stray bullet shooting that happened at a Brooklyn bus stop over the weekend.
His injury is so severe, he is unsure if he will ever be able to walk again.
Nana Donkor, a 16-year-old junior at Far Rockaway High School in Queens, said he was waiting for a bus near East 16th Street and Avenue J in Midwood just before 5 p.m. Sunday when another teenager approached him.
“Some kid that looked very familiar to me came up to me, tapped me, and says, ‘Oh, what’s up, man? How are you doing?'” Donkor said. “I said, ‘Oh, what’s up?’ Gave him a dap.”
Then, Donkor says three teenagers in masks suddenly came out of nowhere.
“They let out their gun, and I heard the cock-back sound of the gun,” he said. “And I tried to take off, and I guess I was hit with a stray bullet.”
Donkor now has a bullet lodged in his spine.
“Hurts so much,” he told CBS News New York’s Jennifer Bisram on Wednesday.
Police said Donkor was not the intended target. No arrests have been made at this time, and police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to give them a call.
Donkor remains at Maimonides Medical Center with loved ones by his bedside.
“Praying a lot,” mother Daniella Boakye said. “And I have prayer warriors that has been supporting, the whole church, the family, all of them are supporting with prayers, so I know everything will be better. It’s just a matter of time.”
Donkor said he’s even praying for the person who pulled the trigger.
“I would just want him to apologize to me for what he did,” he said, “and you know, he’s a kid just like me, and I pray he lives his future and has a good life ahead of him, too.”
Donkor said he’s unsure if he will be able to walk, let alone play basketball again.
“If it doesn’t get better, then most likely I may not be able to play again,” he said. “That’s going to hurt.”
Still, he isn’t giving up.
“God is great, and I will be back on the court [sometime] soon,” he said.
This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.