joe

Eleven-year-old at Time of Shooting
Shot: December 31 1998
Philadelphia Pennsylvania

People were firing guns up in the air

Joe: '"I was in South Philly visiting my grandma. I was walking with my cousin, up to Second Street to see if one of the string bands who perform at the Mummer's Parade would come out of their clubhouse to play on New Year's Eve. It was maybe a quarter to twelve. People were firing guns up in the air, maybe it was fireworks; I really couldn't distinguish the difference. I wasn't afraid when I was walking along. Then I fell to the ground. My cousin saw me, he thought I was kidding, but blood started coming out of my head. He ran back to the house and got my mom. I don't remember anything else because I was knocked out. I remained in a coma for eleven days. I was a patient in the hospital for six months. I had surgery eight times. I couldn't really say when I came back to consciousness. I was transported by chopper to Children's Hospital where they took care of me for twenty-seven days. I was transported to Delaware, where I live, for the rest of my six months in the hospital. I always knew I was shot, because my parents told me.

The bullet is still inside

"The bullet went off and came straight down in the top of my head. The bullet is still inside. You have to take the bullet out to match it up, to find out who did it, and they don't want to take it out because they don't want to risk any more damage. I never lost my brain function. The bullet went into my brain in motor function and speech. I couldn't speak for six months. My one vocal chord is paralyzed. I don't go in a wheel chair that much; I normally use that to go outside. Inside I'm on a computer chair.

Everything's a challenge

"I can't play sports, which, I really want to do, I can't play pool, which, I really want to do. I'd kind of like to know who did it, but in a sense I'd kind of like not to know. I work for everything, what I've got to do to get up in the morning, to brush my teeth and all, everything's a challenge, and it's courtesy of whoever shot me.

They're not thinking that much

"What they think is having fun is actually dangerous. They're not thinking that much. It needs to stop, but in my view, it's never going to stop. So long as we got war and hate in this country we're going to have reckless endangerment. I'd like to see people put them away, turn all weapons and guns in. Get them out of the hands of criminals so they can't shoot people. I have no plans for the future yet. I'm a real haphazard kind of thinker; I'm a kind of spur of the moment kind of thinker."

He's just under twelve million in medical bills

Gregory (father of Joseph) : "It's a long litany of treatment; he's had hydrocephalus, bad vision problems, lots of complications. Right now, in 2003, he's just under twelve million dollars in medical bills. He's tutored at home. He was an honor student, a black belt in karate, starting quarterback on the school football team, starter on the basketball team. I was in combat in Viet Nam and I have yet to run across someone with more courage than Joe. I don't know where he gets it, but he has raw courage in the way he's faced this. We don't have a whole hell of a lot of choice but to adjust, so that's what we do."