9-Year-Old D.C. Gunshot Victim Won't Be Home for Christmas, But is Recovering

When Jaydan Stancil, 9, of D.C. became the victim of a gunshot in early October, it was a race against time to save his life.

Stancil was playing by a playground ny the Mayfair Mansions Apartments on Oct. 3 when a bullet missed the intended target and instead struck him in the head above the right eye. He was not supposed to survive even an hour after the incident.

“The doctors came out there and told his father and I Jaydan basically has 35 to 45 minutes to live,” Jayden’s mother, Monique Nichols told ABC7.

Although Stancil is spending the holiday season in the hospital, he was not suppose to make it this long.

“I thought he was going to die. Everybody did,” Chief of Neurosurgery at Children’s National Medical Center Dr. John Myseros told NBC Washington. “The bullet went through the bone, dragging the bone with it into the brain. It went up, ricocheted off the top and went down.”

The bullet is still stuck in Stancil’s head and doctors removed the right side of his skull in order to relieve pressure, NBC Washington reports. Since he is young and still developing, Stancil was able to survive the injury better than adult would have.

While he will still be in the hospital on Christmas, he is expected to spend many more at home in years to come.

For more on this story visit ABC7 or NBC Washington.

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