WOBURN, MASS. (WHDH) - The family of Jemil Evans is heartbroken.
They say the 19-year-old is paralyzed and still not breathing on his own, after Woburn police say he was unintentionally shot in the neck over the weekend.
“He’s such an amazing kid, he really is,” says Mary Evans, his grandmother.
The bullet caused severe spinal damage.
“He’s fighting for his life in ICU with a tracheal tube,” says Evans.
Woburn Police say Alec Augustino Braz unintentionally shot his friend, while showing off a new gun.
“The irresponsibility and recklessness. I’m just so angry about that,” says Evans.
Braz is now charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, and improper storage of a firearm in connection with the shooting.
Police say when Braz was first questioned by police, he told them he was in the bathroom when he heard a gunshot. Police says he told officers he saw an unknown man run out of the house, and he found Evans on the floor bleeding.
Police say they determined that was not the truth.
Braz didn’t say anything to 7NEWS cameras as he walked out of Woburn District Court, his family covering his face with an umbrella.
His attorney says Braz is devastated about the shooting. The two were best friends.
Evans had been staying in Maine with his father for the last few months, but family says he comes home every weekend to see his mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.
His father, Emil Dzabiev, told 7NEWS by phone the family is devastated.
“It’s been a blessing for me to have him here all the time and a tragedy like this is very difficult,” says Dzabiev, “For everyone out there this is a lesson to be learned.”
The family says Evans has a long recovery ahead of him and they have set up a GoFundMe page for his medical care. As for Braz, he recently received his license to carry. Police say that has now been suspended. A judge said he cannot have contact with Evans.
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