Dane Horton, Sr. knows his Christmas present this year is his only son's life, one that was threatened earlier this month in a shooting near a D.C. Metro station.
Police said Dane Horton, 28, was just an innocent bystander when he was shot about a block from the Anacostia Metro station on the afternoon of Dec. 10. A gang member was aiming for a rival when he was shot in the neck.
"The whole bottom dropped out of me," Horton's father said, recalling the moment D.C. police officers came to his home and told him how seriously his son was injured. "Everything I could hope or want came to a stop."
The younger Horton's right side is paralyzed, though doctors aren't sure if it's temporary or permanent.
"He looked so bad," Horton, Sr. said, fighting back tears. "I understand how parents in Ferguson and all the others feel now. I really do."
His son't condition has improved enough to be moved out of intensive care just in time for Christmas.
"My Christmas present is that he lived," Horton, Sr. said. "That made my day. That's my only child."
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Police continue to investigate the shooting, though a 19-year-old D.C. gang member has been charged. Horton, Sr. said he initially wanted revenge after the shooting, but now says he is ready to forgive.
"If I don't forgive him, then that's on my shoulders the rest of my life and I'll spend all my energy hating this individual and that's not going to work," Horton, Sr. said.
