Though a bullet remains lodged in his head, a bright 9-year-old D.C. boy is on the route to recovery nearly 4 months after a shooting almost ended his life.
Jaydan Stancil was an unintended victim during a gunfight in October at the Mayfair Mansions apartments in Northeast. A responding D.C. police officer cradled Jaydan and drove him to a hospital in his police car, likely saving his life.
"My eyes were shot but I could still hear them praying," Jaydan recalled earlier this month.
D.C. police officers who helped save Jaydan's life delivered him a slew of presents for Christmas several weeks ago, but his biggest wish was to come home to be with his siblings.
This week, that wish is coming true. He's being released from MedStar Rehabilitation Hospital.
"I thought I wasn't going to be able to go out the hospital like this," Jaydan said, giggling with happiness with his mother by his side.
"I'm just overwhelmed," his mother Monique Nichols said. "My son has done a remarkable recovery ... I'm pleased, I'm blessed and I'm grateful."
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Hospital and rehabilitation bills have been piling up for Nichols, though some of those expenses have been relieved by the generosity of strangers through a GoFundMe page.
Nichols said she's also keeping Jaydan away from their old home and scene of the crime, Mayfair Mansions apartments, for the time being.
"[I want to live] somewhere safe, quiet and comfortable," Jaydan said.
For now, Jaydan is staying with relatives until his family finds a new home. News4's Shomari Stone spoke with Council Member Yvette Alexander, who is trying to relocate Nichols to a new community.
Police have yet to make an arrest in Jaydan's shooting.
