Teen Speaks About Near Fatal Firework Shooting
Lauren Trager, Arkansas Matters, July 7, 2011
A hole ripped through his leg. That’s what a young man is recovering from in the hospital tonight, after someone fired a firework at him.
“I am still recovering from all the burns and the trauma and everything like that,” Taylor Williams said.
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Taylor’s leg was ripped open by a firework, narrowly missing an artery.
“They said they pulled pieces of firework, like shrapnel out of my leg,” he said.
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“So is there any doubt in your mind that they meant to do this to you guys?” asks the reporter. “Oh no,” said Jordan Neumeier.
Taylor’s friends say what happened at this park in Maumelle on the fourth of July was intentional.
They’d just finished setting off fireworks of their own when they say someone in a group nearby took aim . . . a large artillery shell coming right at them.
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Taylor’s mom is so thankful he’s alive.
“It could have hit in a different place and he wouldn’t be here today and that would just . . . uh..shake you to your core,” said Charletta Williams.
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Taylor, though, just wants justice.
“I just want them to know how bad they hurt me and be punished for it,”
Police right now don’t have many leads, only that a group of black males may have fired the shot.
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[Editor’s Note: For video reporting and images of the damage to Mr. Williams’ leg, see the original article.]
