GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga.,None — A man shot outside of a Gwinnett County Applebee's restaurant over a football game remains in critical condition.
Christopher Middleton has been in the intensive care unit 24 days after being shot in the abdomen.
His parents said they are facing the fallout and stuck without a home because of the shooting.
"He was kind of the life of all of us, if you will, keeping everyone else laughing," said Middleton's mother, Michelle Williams-Gore.
Now, the aspiring actor and comedian remains in a medically induced coma.
Williams-Gore has been right by his side through the process.
"It's amazing how your life can be going right along. You're at the peak of whatever you're doing and instantly your life changes," she said.
Middleton's family has nowhere for him to go when he's released from the hospital.
They said the shooting happened right in the middle of their efforts to relocate to southwest Atlanta and start a comedy club where Middleton and others could perform. That dream is now on hold with medical bills piling up.
The family of four now has to live in an efficiency at an extended stay hotel.
"Sometime you have to make sacrifices, but now since this has happened, the sacrifice is too great," said Middleton's stepfather, Darryl Gore.
Everything was put on hold because according to police, 31 year old Donald Ray Ayro, a New Orleans Saints fan, took issue with Middleton cheering for the San Francisco 49ers inside the Applebee's.
"There was something that was going on, whether it was his personal life that triggered the action," Williams-Gore theorized. "It couldn't have just been football."
The family has also set up an account at Capital City Bank to try to offset Middleton's medical bills. They also have an account at RBC Bank to benefit Middleton's two young sons.
In addition, Williams-Gore, who is a casting agent, is reaching out to the Atlanta entertainment community to help her plan a fundraiser for her son in their time of need.
WSBTV
