The mother of the 6-year-old boy injured during the Rancho Tehama shooting says she forgives the gunman for what he did to her son.
“At first, I thought about the shooter, I thought, ‘I hope he’s dead,” Angelica Monroy told ABC10. “But then the moment I saw my son laying down, I thought I’ll forgive him for what he did.”
“I need to be good with God,” she continued, “And I just want my son to be okay. I don’t hate him.”
Kevin Jason Neal on Tuesday went on deadly rampage killing four people and injuring several others, including 6-year-old Alejandro Hernandez.
Hernandez’s mother says her son was shot through the wall of his elementary school classroom while hiding under his desk. He was hit in the foot and near the chest.
“I received a phone call at my house and that was the secretary and she told me sit down, sit down,” Monroy recalled that morning. “That's when I heard she was telling me that my son got hit. And I expected the worst.”
Hernandez was airlifted to UC Davis Children’s Hospital, where he is currently recovering. Doctors have not yet been able to get the bullet out of his chest and plan to operate on him this week.
His family describes Hernandez as stable.
“He’s alert. He talks. He knows what’s going on,” said Monroy.
She said her son is aware that he got shot but doesn't want to talk about it.
“He gets scared,” she added.
The family, although distraught, is thankful for the support they’ve seen from friends and perfect strangers. Hundreds of people have together donated more than $20,000 to help with his medical expenses.
“We just we think it will never happen to us,” said Monroy. “Why us?”