Jun 9, 2009 5:33 pm US/Central
5-Year-Old Gunshot Victim Triumphant At Graduation
Martrell Stevens Walks Across Stage
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Martrell Stevens prepares to walk across the stage for his kindergarten graduation, a year after he was shot and wounded in the spine by stray gunfire.
CBS
An innocent little South Side boy who was wounded by gunfire last year wasn't sure he'd ever walk again, but today, he's being called an inspiration.
As CBS 2's Susan Carlson reports, this is the day that Martrell Stevens, 5, has been waiting for. He graduated from kindergarten inside the gymnasium at Jane M. Neil Elementary School, 8555 S. Michigan Ave.
But for a boy who has been confined to a wheelchair for the past year, it was also a huge day of triumph.
"We had a long year. Martrell wasn't able to be your average 5-year-old last summer because he was constantly in and out of the hospital because of him getting shot," said Martrell's mother LaKeesha Rucker.
Martrell arrived at school in style, in a limousine donated by the organization Stop Killing Our Youth, in honor of the milestone.
Not only did Martrell receive his diploma, he also walked across the stage to get it.
It was a feat that took months of preparation.
"Walking, and stretching my legs out," Martrell said.
It was May 23, 2008, when Martrell was hit by gunfire in the back of his mother's car, in the 6400 block of South Bishop Street.
"He just started shooting; shot my brother-in-law three times, and I screamed, and that's what made him turn to my truck, and he shot directly through my car, and shot my son," Rucker said.
No one was ever arrested or charged in the shooting.
Doctors feared Martrell would never walk again after receiving a bullet to the spine. But he had motivation. It was his upcoming kindergarten graduation that kept Martrell working hard in rehab.
Mothers often cry at graduations, but today had even more meaning than most as Martrell walked on his own to get his diploma.
The triumph came as no surprise to his teachers.
"He's a very determined young man, and again, we don't focus on disabilities here at Neil," said school principal Helen Wells. "We focus on the abilities."
As to abilities, Martrell has learned more in kindergarten than some people learn in a lifetime.
"I wish they would put away all the guns," Martrell said.
There's no stopping this graduate. He's now on to first grade after wrapping up a successful school year.
When asked what was going through her mind, Rucker said, "that my son is here today, and he's able to join his class and receive his diploma as an average 5-year-old, and I just thank God that he's here."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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