The Emotional Scars of Bullet Wounds |

Davonte Kelly and Denia Kearse, both 11 years old, were struck by stray bullets in two separate shootings over the past year and made full recoveries from their life-threatening injuries, but they cannot ignore the psychological trauma the attacks inflicted. Their ability to enjoy their childhoods is damaged by their fear of falling victim to another random act of violence.

Davonte was shot in the head on a baseball field in Starrett City, Brooklyn, last spring. It was a Sunday afternoon when a loud popping noise rang out and the young boy screamed in pain as he clutched the side of his head. Family and friends at the scene believed he was hit with a baseball until the doctors at the hospital discovered a bullet. Somehow, the bullet missed his brain earning him the nickname “The Miracle Boy.”

Denia was shot in the neck at a block party in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, in the summer of 2008. She was running away from the gunfire and without realizing it, a bullet struck Denia in the neck. She was bleeding but it was not until later at the hospital that she found out that she had been shot.

Both demonstrated exceptional courage and resilience after sustaining their life-threatening injuries but once the dust settled, their persistent fear of being shot is almost debilitating. The identity of the perpetrators in both cases is still unknown.

Denia Kearse, who spends most of her spare time at her grandmother’s, no longer ventures outside the courtyard or walks to the subway two blocks away by herself. Denia spends hours inside, by the window, watching people come and go. “I’m not afraid,” she said, “but when I hear it, the gunshots, I think they’re coming after me again.”

Davonte Kelly insists that he has moved on and claims that he does not worry about being shot again. Nonetheless, when he hears firecrackers or gunshots, he hides under the bed, his mother Andrea Walters said.

Read the full article from The New York Times here.