She was shot outside her NYC school. A year later, her mom's still fighting for justice

WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn (PIX11) – When a teenage girl found her sister bleeding outside their Williamsburg high school, their lives were forever changed – and it’s time for their school to “do the right thing,” the family's lawyer, John Beatty, told PIX11 News on Thursday in an exclusive interview. 

The teenager, a National Honor Society student, was an innocent bystander shot in the leg outside Williamsburg Charter High School in February 2023, according to Beatty, who recently filed a lawsuit against the school on behalf of the family. Since the shooting, the road to recovery has been difficult, the girls' mother said.

“It’s such a painful place to be where you can’t give your child the kind of reassurance she’s looking for. She’s afraid for her life, permanently looking through the window,” her mother told PIX11. 

In the wake of the traumatic shooting, the school has given the girls nothing aside from “bodega flowers,” a gift card and an ambulance bill from the day of the violence, Beatty said. 

“I don’t think either of them are ever going to be the same,” he added.

The victim, still recovering from her mental and physical injuries, was met outside by her sister, who is also a top-tier student at Williamsburg Charter High School, Beatty said. She was on the phone with her mother at the time of the shooting.

The girls weren’t let back into the school immediately after the shooting until an employee insisted, Beatty alleged. 

“They’ve done nothing to help a young lady who was at the pinnacle of her high school career, at the pinnacle of success, she’s now barely graduating,” Beatty said. “She’s traumatized, she’s lost her friends.”

A school spokesperson told PIX11 News that they could not comment specifically on pending litigation but that the school "has implemented various measures to provide assistance and resources to those affected.”

“Williamsburg Charter High School takes all necessary steps to provide a safe and conducive learning environment for all students,” said school spokesperson Katie Manion. "We take all matters related to student safety and communication seriously and will review our procedures as necessary."

The shooting also injured another teenager and a 37-year-old security guard, according to the NYPD. 

Given the shooting happened off school property, the school has claimed it has no responsibility for the girls’ injuries, court documents show. It’s been a painful and minimizing response from the school, the girls’ mom said. 

“You can’t just wish away [that] a child that went to school and came back with a bullet wound,” she said.

Beatty said the girls are models of great teenagers, good students with strong parental support sent to the school for its promise of better education.

“This wasn’t what she was like,” the victim's mother said. “It might not be an open wound physically, but it’s still a very, very open wound for her.”