'Don't let me die': 14-year-old shot in Detroit teen takeover shares his story

Fourteen-year-old shot during teen takeover in Detroit, shares his story

They say just when things appeared to calm down, Tavuan Clark was shot. He described the experience from his hospital bed. 

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A mother and her 14-year-old son who was shot in the chest during a teen takeover in Detroit, are sharing their story.

The backstory:

The teen continues to recover at Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit following Sunday's shooting. Meanwhile, a 16-year-old suspect has been charged in the shooting. 

Tracey Clark says she gave her son Tavuan permission to go downtown that day with a 9 p.m. curfew. Two groups got into a fight, with Tavuan's defending themselves, he said.

They say just when things appeared to calm down, Tavuan was shot.  He described the experience from his hospital bed.

"When I got shot, it was like a big old jump-scare in my chest, and I went down," he said. "I didn’t know I was shot until I (saw) someone take off my shirt and I (saw) blood."

Clark got the call that he had been shot, saying that her heart "dropped."

His mother says doctors had to remove a portion of Tavuan’s lung, but he is expected to make a full recovery.

"He got shot a quarter of an inch away from his heart," she said. "He may not have been here if he had turned the wrong way."

Tavuan said his biggest message he wants to share is, "Put down the guns and like, stop violence."

In the aftermath of the shooting, he got help from Ortagus Jackson, a member of Ceasefire Outreach.  

"He helped me, he came over to me and kept telling me 'Don't die,' and kept assisting me," Tavaun said. "Waiting until the EMS came."

Good Samaritan who help teen that was shot, explains what happened

In the aftermath of the teen takeover shooting downtown, Tavuan Clark got help from Ortagus Jackson, a member of Ceasefire Outreach.

Jackson described the scene.

"One group got into it with another group and next thing we know, we're following one group and shooting started," he said. "I seen the kid run, fell, while the shooting was going. I ran across the street, (saw) he was shot. I turned him over, ripped his shirt open, to see where the bullet hole was. I seen the bullet was in his chest, I put my hand on it and applied pressure."

Jackson said while pressing on Tavuan's wound, he reassured him he would be alright while a woman nearby, prayed over him.

"He was talking to me, he said 'Sir don't let me die.' I said 'You ain't going to die,'" Jackson said. "It was a young lady, I don't know who she is, she was down there praying for him. When I looked up, she was gone. The ambulance, the police showed up and everything, and took him to the hospital."

"As parents we have to know where our kids are," Clark said. "We have to do better parenting because why are our kids out here with guns."

Just last week, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield announced the initiative Occupy the Summer. It involves recreation centers extending their hours during the summer like midnight basketball and connecting with a mentor.