BOSTON (WHDH) - A girl who was left permanently paralyzed when she was struck by a stray bullet in Dorchester in 2003 has overcome all odds and will graduate from high school Thursday.
Kai Leigh Harriot is 18 years old now, but many Bostonians remember her as the 3-year-old toddler who was paralyzed from the chest down after being struck by gunfire as she sat on her family’s porch.
The bullet struck Harriot in the back, shattering her spine.
“I definitely remember it vividly but I don’t think about it every day,” Harriot said.
Harriot adapted to her new life in a wheelchair at a young age. The youngster inspired the community when she courageously spoke at her shooter’s sentencing and forgave him.
“Hopefully the message of forgiveness that I shared when I was younger it holds the same message,” Harriot said. “I hope people apply it in their own lives because I still apply it in mine, in the same way as I did when I was younger.”
Harriot recently spoke at an anti-gun violence rally at Newton Day School.
“To be able to speak to my school community and let them know it’s a lot closer to home than they think was really important,” Harriot said.
Harriot is now set to earn her high school diploma and her mother, Tonya David, is thrilled.
“I am proud of her,” David said. “This day is finally here and I have to say, ‘whooo hoooo!'”
Harriot is heading to the University of Arizona on a full scholarship in the fall. She plans to study veterinary science and the Mandarin language.
“I’m definitely not just the 3-year-old who got shot,” Harriot said. “I’m my own woman now. I’m ready to take on the world and see what I can do with it.”
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