Jackelyn Garcia’s daughter called her from Apalachee High School on Wednesday morning and told her she had been shot.
“Today has been one of my worst nightmares,” Garcia wrote on Facebook. “From sending my baby off this morning to school, to receiving her call saying, ‘Mommy, I’m shot.’”
Melany, her 15-year-old daughter, “has a long road to full recovery.”
“We are so blessed my babies are alive. Melany is so strong,” Garcia wrote.
The family, like others, are benefitting from a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay for medical bills. On Saturday, Garcia shared encouraging news. After three days in the hospital and two surgeries, Melany is home, Garcia wrote on Facebook.
Four people were killed in the mass shooting in Barrow County and nine others were injured. Two students, Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn, and two teachers, assistant football coach Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall and math teacher Cristina Irimie, died.
A 14-year-old student at the school has been charged as an adult with murder. His father also was arrested and charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children, officials said. Their first court appearance was Friday.
Other victims who were shot or grazed by bullets and survived have been publicly identified, including Ronaldo Vega, a 14-year-old student and soccer player at Apalachee High School. His mother created a GoFundMe to help cover his medical bills after he was grazed by bullet fragments.
“He had to be taken to the hospital for urgent care to see if the bullet fragments had hit any arteries or ligaments so they could be removed quickly or not,” wrote Alejandra Diaz, Vega’s mother.
Another student, Natalie Griffith, was shot several times and taken to the hospital, where she underwent surgery to reconstruct her wrist, according to a GoFundMe page created to help the family with expenses. The family said she’s still smiling despite a long recovery road ahead.
“Natalie has always been a strong young woman and will continue to be strong despite her wounds,” her mother Marilda Griffith wrote. “She will recover and continue to be this beautiful young woman that she is. Our father in heaven saved her life because she has things to accomplish in this mortal life. Our heart goes out to those that can’t hug their children or their loved ones today. Ours prayers goes out to our whole country who is morning this awful tragedy.”
Taylor Jones, another student, was flown to Grady Memorial Hospital after being shot, according to a GoFundMe campaign. She “is stable after a long surgery,” her sister said on the fundraising campaign to help pay her medical costs.
Courtesy of GoFundMe
Courtesy of GoFundMe
“We still have a long road ahead of us with more surgeries and extensive (physical therapy),” Mackenzie Turner said on GoFundMe. “Thank you all for the love and support.”
In a Facebook post late Thursday, Turner said “Taylor got the breathing tube out this morning and is fighting really hard.” On Tuesday, Turner said her sister is still in the hospital but is doing very well.
David Phenix, a teacher at the school, sustained gunshot wounds to his foot and hip, his daughter Katie Phenix said in public Facebook posts. He is expected to remain in the intensive care unit for another couple of days, but was stable after surgery.
One of the first things he said after waking up from surgery was, “Is everyone else OK?” according to Katie Phenix’s posts.
“I think that speaks volumes to the type of man he is — always putting others first, no matter his personal situation,” she wrote.
In an update posted Saturday morning, Katie Phenix thanked the ICU and surgical care teams for their kindness and generosity.
”All things are positive!” She wrote. “We spent the night watching ‘Friends’ on TV!”
Later Saturday came more good news. Phenix spent time with the family in “his element” watching Presbyterian College, his alma mater, get its first win of the college football season. The family said he was improving little by little.
“This morning, he graduated from a liquid diet to soft foods (not quite a fat steak and baked potato, but a chocolate frosty from Wendy’s will do)!” his daughter wrote.
― Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
-Staff writer Savannah Sicurella contributed to this report.
