Paralyzed Teen Writes Statement to Man Who Shot Her in 2013

Thirteen-year-old Tayloni Maycik broke into tears at a Brooklyn Supreme Court sentencing hearing for the gunman whose shot permanently paralyzed her when she was just 11 years old. Kane Cooper had fired ten rounds at rival gang members in the May 2013 incident, hitting only Tayloni, an innocent bystander.

The girl’s family had to console her inside the court’s well and her older brother Daiquian read his sister’s statement aloud for the court. The 17-year-old faced Cooper as he read his sister’s words, “I’m suffering from emotional distress, depression, anxiety and PTSD.”

Cooper rolled his eyes and fidgeted throughout the hearing, refusing to acknowledge his victim or her family. His apparent lack of regard didn’t stop Tayloni’s mother, Priscilla Samuel, from speaking about how dramatically the shooting has changed the family’s lives.

Cooper, who had pleaded guilty in his criminal trial, was sentenced on June 8 to 17 years in prison for the shooting. Read more on the story here.