‘I’ll be able to walk again’: 6-year-old shot in road rage incident confident about her future

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE/Gray News) – A 6-year-old’s life may be changed forever after she was shot in the back during a road rage incident on July 10, but that’s not crushing the young girl’s spirit.

Onyx, 6, was in the car with her family when a road rage incident with a group of motorcyclists in Kentucky led to a shooting.

A bullet went through the girl’s back and she had to have emergency surgery.

Onyx has been recovering since and may never walk again. Being in a wheelchair is her new reality.

“I really liked going through the hallways to test it out,” Onyx said, talking about her wheelchair. “I wanted to do it again and then I did.”

The 6-year-old who just wants to dance and play is finding comfort in doing donuts in her wheelchair.

Onyx said she remembers leaving the park on July 10, getting in the car and the moment when she was shot.

“I remember getting carried into the hospital,” she recalled.

Those chain of events left Onyx’s mother, Chyna Sands, with the task of telling her daughter her new reality.

Sands said she told Onyx the bullet severed her back and she can’t use her legs like she used to – a conversation that is still setting in for the young girl.

She’s had to explain to Onyx that she must be in a wheelchair because she can’t walk.

But Onyx didn’t let this get her down too much. She said she is tired of people saying what she can’t do. To her, she has no doubt about what the future holds.

“I’ll be able to walk again, I know I will,” Onyx said with confidence. “I believe that I will be able to walk again.”

That mindset is what Sands says keeps her going.

As of right now, no one has been charged for the shooting which keeps Sands on edge.

“They want me to be patient, but I am out of patience,” Sands said. “I would like to see justice for an innocent 6-year-old who was minding her own business.”

While those responsible are out free, small things like getting into a car are now triggers of trauma.

“Because I got shot in the back, and I’m a little bit scared to get in the car because it brings back the memories,” Onyx said.

Hearing Onyx say that is a hard pill to swallow for a mother that loves to travel everywhere with her daughter.

“As her mom, I’m used to being her superhero,” Sands said. “I fix all of her problems and that’s something that I can’t fix.”

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