MEMPHIS, Tenn. — This mother of four says her worst fear was realized Monday night when her 15-year-old son showed up with a gunshot wound.
“They came to the door banging, and I’m thinking it’s the police knocking and it’s him and two other young men carrying him — telling me my son had been shot,” said Monique Hopson. “Scary isn’t like the word, my heart was pounding.”
Once trained as a certified nurse, she began putting pressure on his wound while waiting for paramedics and police to get to her home.
She was angry it happened.
“I told my son just yesterday, yesterday evening when he got home from school,” said Hopson, “Son if you see your friends and they got a gun, get away from them. Those aren’t the kids you want to be around.”
Hobson says her son was supposed to be home in bed, but he snuck out.
He told her he came to Marianna and Deadrick with friends and that some people were shooting at each other and he got caught in the crossfire.
“He is blessed it didn’t hit an artery and it didn’t hurt you to the point where you could be crippled or hurt,” said Hopson.
Hopson is hoping this will teach her son to make better life choices.
She says she knows her neighborhood is rough, but her child doesn’t have to be another statistic.
“Kids these days either end up dead or jail, to end up in the hospital is a gift,” said Hopson.
She says she would tell other parents to stay on top of your kids because it could save their lives.