Boy who survived shooting says he's feeling 'good'

ATLANTA — An 8-year-old boy who was shot while sleeping is back home after spending a week in the hospital.

Ahijah Geffard and his parents met with Channel 2's Shae Rozzi at an undisclosed location Tuesday to talk about his recovery.

"How are you feeling?" Rozzi asked.

"Good," Geffard answered.

His parents asked Rozzi not to talk to their son about the shooting, only about his recovery.

He showed Rozzi balloons that his family and friends have given him and cards that his classmates made.

"From Michael," Geffard reads. "I hope you get well. I hope you get well soon."

Geffard said the cards and a bag of goodies have made him feel better.

A bullet struck him in the back and fractured his ribs as he slept at his grandmother's home on Hassana Lane in south Fulton County last week. His parents are amazed that he is out of the hospital just one week later.

"We were really scared," his mother, Tarzarria Phillips, told Rozzi.

"But he's what kept us strong because he kept going," said Mario Williams, the boy's father. "We're just trying to get him back to stuff that he likes to do."

Rozzi asked the little boy what he's looking forward to the most now that he's out of the hospital.

"Playing," he replied.

Our photographer captured video of Geffard playing outside with his parents. He was smiling and was happy.

"I'm glad that he's okay," his mother said. "Now we're trying to figure out the why and the who to stop this senseless violence because it's crazy."

The family told Rozzi that they are too afraid to live in the grandmother's house but with both parents being unemployed, they can't afford to move.

They're asking the community for support.

Donations can be made to the "Pamela Phillips Donation Fund" at any Wells Fargo branch. Pamela Phillips is the grandmother they were living with at the time of the shooting.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.

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WSBTV