RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Twelve-year-old Adrianna Bethea remains at WakeMed Medical Center in Raleigh, fighting to walk again after she was shot at a parking lot carnival in Fayetteville on March 22.
The shooting happened late on a Saturday evening near the corner of Cliffdale and Reilly roads. Bethea’s mom took her to the carnival to meet and spend time with some cousins. The chaos unfolded as Bethea and her cousins were getting off of a carnival ride.
“We kind of seen two guys; it looked like they were arguing, but we didn’t think nothing about it,” Bethea said.
Moments later, the kids heard gunshots.
“We heard like two gunshots; that’s when everybody ran,” Bethea told CBS 17. “But I was kind of running at the same time but also looking for my little cousin cause he’s autistic.”
While trying to run to escape the gunshot sounds, a bullet hit Bethea in her back.
“I didn’t really feel it, I just felt my legs falling. So I screamed,” said Bethea. “Someone came up to me and they were like you did not shoot, you’re just in shock. So, I removed my jacket, because it didn’t go through my jacket. The blood didn’t go through my jacket. So, I removed my jacket so she could see,” Bethea said.
The bullet pierced her back and exited her chest. Bethea’s mom Latia Baker remembers getting that phone call no parent wants to get about their child.
“Her father crying in my ear and I’m like please tell me this is not true,” Baker said.
Baker was on the helicopter with Bethea as paramedics airlifted her to UNC Chapel Hill with a severe spinal injury. At the time, the 12-year-old couldn’t feel her back or stomach.
“I’m the one who they told that it’s a bigger possibility that she will never walk again,” Baker said.
Eventually, some sensation returned to her back and stomach. However, the active cheerleader and dancer still doesn’t have feeling in her legs. She was recently transferred from UNC Chapel Hill to WakeMed for rehab. They are using technology to help her adjust and regain some independence with her wheelchair.
“Oh, it’s a big change because now she has to have my help when she has been doing her own hair since she was like 6,” Baker said.
CBS17 asked Bethea what’s been keeping her going through this recovery process.
“God and my family,” Bethea said.
Fayetteville Police said so far, no one has been arrested in this shooting. We asked the 12-year-old if there would be something she would want to say to whoever pulled the trigger.
“I don’t got nothing to say. They threw their life away. Wasn’t me,” Bethea said. “And if they don’t get put in jail, it’s not my fault. God’s going to handle it. Not me.”
While this family said they forgive the shooter, they said they still want justice.
Bethea could get to go home as early as Wednesday. Her parents plan to take her home to Fayetteville on Saturday for a day trip and bring her to her favorite stores like Target and Dollar Tree.
The Bethea family will have a slew of medical bills when the 12-year-old is released. They’ve set up this GoFundMe page to help pay for those expenses.
