ATLANTA — A 17-year-old boy is in the hospital, and his friend is recovering at home on Monday after the two were shot last week during a botched robbery attempt in Midtown Atlanta.
Atlanta Police are still looking for the suspects who they say followed and then shot two teenage boys last Thursday at the Rainbow Crosswalk and left them both for dead.
It started out as a normal day for two 17-year-old boys walking home from Midtown High School.
“I was filming for a game that I got paid to go to," Trenton Boone said.
Boone was doing what he loved as a photographer for the game, but he noticed two men following him and his friend as the two teens walked home.
“As we’re getting close to the Rainbow Crosswalks, I hear them coming behind us and it was like, ‘Give me everything you got!’" Boone said.
Boone's worst nightmare came true that evening.
“The guy was literally like at least five inches away from my body. When he shot, I saw fire come out. It was a life-or-death situation," Boone said. "Anything could have happened to me. I could have got hit multiple times, but I was lucky enough to get grazed in the stomach.”
Bullets hit Boone's friend, Asa Daniels, in a main artery in his left arm and also in his right foot. Daniels' mom said he's had two surgeries since the shooting.
“You wouldn’t expect somebody to come up just behind you, just to try to rob you and take you for your things. Then they end up not getting nothing, and they just shoot you for no reason," Boone said.
Boone encourages other teens to be aware of their surroundings.
“If you don't have a ride home, at least contact a friend or somebody that you know that you're real close with to take you home," Boone said.
The images of seeing his life flash before his eyes is seared into Boone's mind, as he continues to heal both physically and emotionally.
Daniels' mother has started a GoFundMe page to pay for his extensive medical bills.