Family: 9-year-old downtown shooting victim recovering from shattered femur

SEATTLE — The youngest victim in Wednesday's downtown mass-shooting had successful surgery on a shattered femur at Harborview Medical Center, according to a close family friend, and he may be cleared to go home sometime Friday.

The family--who asked that the boy only be identified by his first name--said 9-year-old Judah was shot in the upper thigh when the family was caught in a hail of gunfire. They say Judah had just spent the day with his family and friends on an outing with fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses visiting the Pacific Science Center, and they were all walking through downtown to take a ferry home to Port Orchard.

“He remembers walking down the street with his friends, his little sisters and his parents,” said Erik Hanson, a close family friend. “They started to hear gunshots, and the next thing he knew he was on the ground.”

Judah would be one of eight people hit by bullets fired from three guns. A woman in her 50s--believed to have been in a wheelchair--died within 20 feet of where Judah fell.

The family gave KIRO 7 the images of Judah’s X-ray to show the extent of the bone damage, and the bullet fragments left inside, something doctors described as a "jigsaw puzzle.”

The family credited veteran surgeon Dr. Daphne Beingessner with successfully putting those pieces together.

Amazon told KIRO 7 two of their workers were also hurt in the shooting. They say both are recovering.

Of the three people still being treated, a 55-year-old woman shot in the stomach is in intensive care, and a 32-year-old man is said to be improving. Hanson says 9-year-old Judah is calm, has forgiven the shooters, and has never been angry over what happened.

“I saw him after surgery this morning he just he’s unflappable,” Hanson said. “It’s remarkable composure for a 9-year-old, but I think it goes back to his core values, his faith in the Bible, and the support from his family and his congregation.”

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