Conroe teen shot in the face speaks about ordeal
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Like something from a nightmare, Jamie Richards-Hogland, 19, got a knock at the door.
She looked out and didn't see anyone, but when she opened the door, a man emerged wearing a Halloween mask and he shot her in the face.
"The bullet went through her left side, right through her jaw," Jessica Hogland, Jamie's mother, said. "It came out her neck."
Jamie was attending Tarleton State University in Stephenville when the shooting happened at her apartment complex in December.
Jessica said she and her husband got the heart-wrenching call the night of the shooting.
"(The officer) called. We were in bed and he just told us our daughter had been shot and to start heading toward Fort Worth," Jessica Hogland said.
They didn't know at the time the suspected shooter, Shawn Layton, was at the wrong apartment. Police said he was upset about a drug deal and went to the wrong building. He was allegedly looking for a male resident. He was arrested days later.
Jamie is now paralyzed from the shoulders down. She was brought to the Texas Medical Center for treatment closer to her hometown of Conroe. It's a terrifying diagnosis for anyone, but especially a woman who's life is just starting.
"It's very difficult to listen to your daughter, you know, express she can't believe she is disabled now. To hear her say, 'It's like I'm an infant.' You know, to hear that and see the difficulties," Jessica said.
Jamie is making amazing progress. She's now able to move her right arm. She wanted to share a message of gratitude from her hospital bed.
"I want to thank everyone who's praying for me and has prayed for me. And I want to thank God for saving me."
Those words coming from a brave young woman, who is relying on her faith to make sense of the senseless so she can one day help others.
The family is raising money for the unexpected expenses with a GoFundMe account. Her parents are also trying to get country star Cody Johnson to call or meet Jamie to lift her spirits.
