An update has been provided on the high school football player who was shot during his shift at a local fast-food joint. And unfortunately, the news is not good.
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Teen Football Star Not Expected to Walk Again After Shooting
To bring things up to speed, high school football standout Johnathan "JJ" Vasquez Jr. was working his shift at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. During his lunch break at the Portico Way location back on August 28, gunfire suddenly rang out. One of the bullets penetrated through the restaurant's back door and hit JJ in the spine. Now, in the latest update, the football star's mother, Brenda Cervantes, says that he is completely paralyzed. And doctors say they do not expect him to walk again (NBC News).
JJ was not the intended target of the bullets. The shots were the aftermath of an altercation between a 16-year-old and two other men who were arguing outside of the restaurant. His mother says that her son's unfortunate incident is part of a larger issue. This is due to young people having access to guns.
"There is no reason for a young person, a 16-year-old, to have access to a gun," Cervantes said via NBC News Los Angeles. "If it can happen to JJ, it can happen to anybody. It's not just his life that changed. It's all of us."
But even after receiving a grim update on her son's condition, Brenda is doing her best to remain positive. And she believes that everything will work out for the best in the end.
"To me, God has a plan for him," she added. "That is what we are holding to; that's what he is holding onto every day. He says, 'Mom, I have a purpose.' Repeats it every day. Says, 'I'm strong. I'm worthy.
She also added that in this difficult season, her goal is to give her son "The most independence possible, and the most dignity for the rest of his life."
