A teenager who was shot in Washington County, Oregon, texted her mother a terrifying letter after being gravely injured: “I got shot. Mama. Plz. “Help me.”
Naomi Briggs, 16, was in a friend’s bedroom when her pal inadvertently shot her in the stomach at 5 a.m. on Thursday, according to court documents acquired by KATU2. The girl’s 18-year-old buddy, Sky Alexander Douglas Korbut, was arrested and charged with third-degree assault and unauthorized possession of a handgun.
The two were apparently hanging out at Korbut’s house in the early hours of Thursday morning, after Korbut picked up the adolescent from a night out with friends.
Korbut told police that he assumed his gun’s magazine had been taken when he went to move it from the dog kennel it had been sitting in. According to KATU2, he said that he waved the gun at his companion, and it “somehow” went off and hit her while she was seated on his bed.
Briggs then texted her mother a number of alarming messages.
“I woke up to that text message saying she had been shot, but her phone was turned off,” the girl’s mother, Andrea Briggs, told KGW.
“The doctor did tell me there was a chance she might not make it and so it’s just been a struggle.”
She went further: “Hold onto your kids, you never know like what’s going to happen.”
According to court filings, Korbut allegedly bought the gun, a Smith & Wesson pistol, for $650 from someone “on the street” in Portland’s Chinatown after failing a background check when attempting to acquire a shotgun for home defense.
Korbut allegedly told a 911 dispatcher that he shot Briggs. First responders discovered her with a single bullet hole in her stomach.
According to Oregon Live, the young woman, who recently turned 16, has undergone four operations since the incident and is still in the intensive care unit at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital.
According to KATU2, the young girl’s “intestines, gallbladder, liver, pancreas, and IVC vein” were all wounded by a single bullet, and she required at least 20 liters of blood to treat her “severe” injuries.
Her family has set up a GoFundMe page to aid with the teen’s mounting medical expenses as she continues to heal.
Briggs was characterized as “too young [and], full of life for something like this to happen” on the contribution website.
Korbut was freed from jail and is set to appear in court on December 2.