An 11-year-old girl who was shot in the head while sitting in a car outside a McDonald’s in Florida has spoken publicly for the first time since her surgery.
Dora Belen Rivera was sitting in a parked car outside the McDonald’s in Hallandale Beach on June 27, waiting for food with her father Oscar Roman Miron and her two younger siblings, aged two and five.
An 18-year-old McDonald’s employee became involved in an altercation in the parking lot while arriving for his shift and opened fire. Dora was hit in the head. Her father was struck in the leg, while the two younger children were unharmed.
Dora underwent emergency surgery but doctors determined that removing the bullet would cause greater harm than leaving it in place. She faces a long road of specialized medical care and rehabilitation ahead.
First public words were ones of gratitude
Despite everything she has been through, Dora’s first public words were ones of gratitude.
“Thank you for everything,” she said.
“Thank you for the police. Thank you for the firefighters. Thank you for the doctors. It feels like I have another chance.”
Her father has since been discharged from hospital but the family says they have been left deeply traumatized.
What happened
Police say the family were not the intended targets. Surveillance footage obtained by NBC Miami showed a man chasing McDonald’s employee Ralph N-Kosi Blue III through the parking lot before taking cover on the opposite side of the SUV where Dora and her father were sitting.
Blue is then seen raising his weapon and firing.
Blue, 18, has been charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The McDonald’s franchise owner confirmed Blue is no longer employed at the restaurant.
A GoFundMe set up by the family is raising money to cover medical costs, rehabilitation, lost income and daily expenses while Oscar focuses entirely on his daughter’s recovery.
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