DETROIT (WXYZ) — A brave eighth grader is asking for the public's help bringing the people who shot her in the head to justice to help her move forward.
Myonna Lanton, 14, says she believes someone shot at the wrong house as she stood in her own living room on Oct. 14.
Lanton was standing in her home when she got a text from her mom, then looked down to read it. She was then suddenly shot in the head. The 14-year-old was dressed in festive pajamas and spent Christmas Eve with her mom, Myra Lanton. The two are celebrating a holiday that just over two months ago, they feared the teen would never see.
"I am so thankful she is still here, that is my Christmas gift this year," Myra said. "I thought i was going to say goodbye when they told me she has been shot in the head and the bullet its still there."
Myonna says the bullet knocked her out. She woke up bleeding profusely.
"I was bleeding out my nose but the bullet had came and stopped here," Myonna said while pointing just below her right eye.
Amazingly, doctors saved her life and she is trying to live it to the fullest with the goal of someday becoming a photographer. She now speaks publicly to show how violence impacts innocent youth and has made a call for an end to violence.
"Just stop," the teen said. "I missed three weeks of school, but for what? It's like for what? I wasn't even doing anything,"
Myonna says she believes the shooters targeted the wrong home on Appoline near Seven Mile Road in Detroit. Now, there are surveillance cameras outside so Myonna can look outside whenever she feels afraid, which is far too often, especially since the people responsible for the shooting remain free. Witnesses describe the the suspects as three masked men.
"I am so tired of living here. I just want to move," Myonna said.
She is hoping a different home will end the torturous anxiety. She and her mom are trying to raise enough money to move through a GoFundMe account.
"We just want to live everyday life without looking over our shoulders or through the window, or through the cameras," Myonna said.
If you have information on the shooting, contact Crime Stopper at 1-800-SPEAK-UP.
