A pregnant Ohio teenager was left paralyzed after she was shot during an armed robbery, leaving doctors uncertain whether she will ever walk again.
Angel Jones, 18, was 26 weeks pregnant when gunfire erupted in Toledo during a meeting with a person she and her boyfriend had connected with online through Snapchat, according to the police and her family.
The bullet narrowly missed her unborn baby but shattered her arm, tore through her chest and caused a severe spinal injury that left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Now, as police search for the gunman, the Springfield High School student is battling to keep her pregnancy on track while facing an uncertain future.
According to a police report, Angel and her 19-year-old boyfriend traveled to Greenway Avenue when a man dressed in black approached the couple's vehicle and attempted to rob them at gunpoint.
According to investigators, the suspect pointed a firearm at the boyfriend and demanded money.
A struggle then broke out with the boyfriend telling police he attempted to push the weapon away.
During the confrontation, the gun fired and the bullet struck Angel.
Angel, an 18-year-old Ohio woman who is 26 weeks pregnant, was shot during an alleged armed robbery in Toledo
The shooting left Angel with a fracture to her 12th vertebra and severe spinal trauma. She is currently paralyzed from the waist down and has no movement in her legs
Her mother, Brandy Jones, later described the horrifying moment and the life-altering injuries that followed.
'The guy pulls the trigger, and it hits my daughter in the left arm and goes through her side. Right above the baby - by the grace of God misses the baby - but lodges in her chest,' Jones said.
While the unborn child escaped injury, Angel did not.
According to her family, the bullet shattered her arm before traveling into her chest, where it eventually lodged before surgeons removed it.
The trauma caused extensive damage to her spine.
'She has a spinal fracture at the 12th vertebrae, so she's currently paralyzed now,' Jones said. 'And that's going to be difficult enough - because she can't really use her right arm either - and she's got a baby on the way.'
In a GoFundMe, Jones revealed the full extent of her daughter's injuries.
She said the blast fractured Angel's 12th vertebra and severely traumatized her spinal cord.
Angel's boyfriend attempted to wrestle the weapon away from the gunman during the robbery
The trauma from the shooting sent Angel into premature labor at just 26 weeks pregnant
'Right now, Angel is completely paralyzed from the waist down with zero movement in her legs,' Jones wrote. 'Doctors are entirely unsure if she will ever walk again.'
The gunshot also sent Angel into premature labor at just 26 weeks into her pregnancy. Doctors have been racing to slow contractions and keep the baby in the womb for as long as possible.
According to Jones, Angel's medical team is treating the situation as an emergency and has been administering medications designed to help rapidly develop the baby's lungs and brain in case an early delivery becomes unavoidable.
'He currently weighs just 1 pound, 9 ounces,' Jones wrote of her unborn grandson. 'Every single day he stays inside her is a miracle.'
The emotional toll on the family has been immense.
'It's the worst feeling in the world - to see your kid suffering and not being able to do anything about it,' Jones wrote.
Jones said her daughter had always feared paralysis worrying about how she will care for a newborn if she remains confined to a wheelchair.
Despite her injuries, the teenager continues to fight.
'Angel is taking this tragedy like a true trooper, fighting for her life and the life of her son,' her mother wrote.
Jones also paid tribute to Angel's boyfriend, who she says tried to save both his own life and Angel's when the robbery unfolded.
In the fundraising appeal, she described how the gunman held the weapon directly to his head before he attempted to wrestle it away.
According to a police report, Angel and her 19-year-old boyfriend traveled to Greenway Avenue, above, after arranging to meet a person they had met online
'The gunman fired to kill him, but missed, and the bullet shattered Angel's arm and tore into her chest instead,' Jones wrote.
She said the young man has remained by Angel's bedside ever since the shooting.
Jones says Angel, her boyfriend and their baby will likely need major support and extensive home modifications if she remains paralyzed.
The family hopes to renovate part of their home to create a wheelchair-accessible living space, build ramps and an accessible bathroom, and obtain specialized transportation and adaptive equipment for both Angel and her baby.
A portion of the fundraising effort is also intended to provide a reward for information that leads to criminal charges against the person responsible.
Police have not announced any arrests.
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