Family: Gunshot victim shot multiple times has long road to recovery

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - An early morning phone call changed a Decatur mother's life and her son's life forever.

In the early morning hours on June 23, Brandy was woken up to a phone call from the Decatur Police. They told her that her son had been in an accident and she needed to get to East Wood and South Maffit Street as soon as possible.

"I kept asking them, you told me there was an accident. My vehicle is the only one here, what's going on," she said.

She soon learned her son, Zachary, was in the hospital. When she got there she found out he had been shot multiple times and needed to be airlifted to a trauma center because his injuries were so bad.

Brandy told WAND News her son was shot 7 times. He has a shattered scapula, a broken right clavicle, T123 fractures and a bullet in his left lung. She explained it's a long road to recovery for her son.

"It's day to day. It's very hard, you know? He's 22. He's been on his own since he was 18," she said. "Now, he needs help sitting up, so it's a lot."

According to police, Zachary was shot near the intersection of E. Wood and S. Maffit Streets around 1:30 a.m. on June 23. According to the police sworn statement, officers in the area saw a car crash into a chain link fence. The officers investigated and found Zachary, 22, slumped over the driver's seat with a gunshot wound to the neck.

Police said Zachary told them before the shooting, he was taking Keylon ONeal to the Salvation Army. The 22-year-old told police ONeal shot him 3 times with a black handgun and left the area.

Police tracked down ONeal on North Illinois Street. Police reported ONeal had his hands on top of his hand and said "I messed up man. I know I messed up, I don't want to resist."

During a police interview, ONeal told police he threw an orange and black backpack that contained a gun in a bush on the south side of the road on Main Street. Officers were able to locate the backpack and gun ONeal described to them. Police said there was a live round in the chamber and the magazine was empty. According to the sworn statement, the gun was reported stolen out of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Police found 3 spent shell casings and 1 fired projectile in Zachary's car.

During a second interview with ONeal, according to the sworn statement, he admitted to police he had the gun and shot Zachary 3 times as he was leaving the car. He told police he got mad and claimed he did not intend on killing Zachary.

"It seems like now people can't settle differences, they just want to pull out a gun, fire it and it affects so many people," said Brandy.

Her son is known for his willingness to help people. Brandy said the last time Zachary was at the hospital was when he was dropping his friend's girlfriend off because she was having a baby. The mother of 4 said Zachary is her oldest and is a huge family man.

Since the shooting happened, she's had to take time off of work to help care for Zachary. A family friend set up a GoFundMe to help with expenses.

ONeal was booked into the Macon County Jail on June 23. He faces Attempted First Degree Murder, Felon Possession of Weapon, Possession of a Stolen Firearm and Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon. His bond was set at $1,000,000.