Morgan State University senior Zariyat Fowoshere remembers hearing gunfire while she and her friends were on the sidewalk on Georgia Avenue during Howard University’s homecoming weekend.
“Her ears starting ringing. She never got the opportunity to even run,” Fowoshere’s sister, Haliyat, told WTOP. “She just was hit by the second or third bullet.
The bullet that police say 17-year-old Kaevaughn Dudley fired hit Fowoshere’s spine and led to a 12-hour emergency surgery.
“My reaction was my heart dropped from the moment I received the phone call that my sister was injured,” Haliyat said. “To see my sister scared and in pain, I was very angry, and I was very upset, but I couldn’t let my tears drop in front of her.”
Monday marks a month since the shooting. Twenty-two-year-old Fowoshere has since returned home to Minnesota.
Haliyat said she didn’t think her sister could begin to heal physically, mentally or emotionally at Howard University Hospital since it was only minutes away from where she was shot.
“She’s actually now in a rehabilitation facility,” Haliyat said. “She’s stable, and she is working on helping restrengthen herself.”
Part of that healing includes keeping a positive attitude and keeping her spirits high.
“When she goes to sleep, she knows everything will be good,” Haliyat said.
Due to medical bills, a GoFundMe was created. So far, it’s raised over $45,000 of its $150,000 goal.
“Our insurance has been a blessing, but our insurance does not cover everything,” Haliyat said.
The Fowoshere family said they’re touched by the kindness and generosity of not only friends and family, but also strangers.
“We’re just so grateful that my sister is so loved from strangers, from friends, from family. We’re eternally grateful. It really makes me want to cry, ” Haliyat said.
With everything that Zariyat Fowoshere has had to face over the last month, it has not broken her spirit. Her big sister said she is resilient and one of the strongest people she’s ever met.
“She’s a queen for the Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha. … She holds that crown on her head as much as she can, even now,” Haliyat said.
This Thanksgiving, Haliyat said she will cook Thanksgiving dinner and bring it to her sister in the rehab center. but she said next year, it won’t be this way.
“This is just a bad season right now, but I tell her that I promised her it would not last forever,” Haliyat said. “This is just a small hurdle in her story.”
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