Facebook Post - Seven Year Old Shot Saving Mom

Outline
Message circulating on Facebook claims that a seven year old girl depicted in an attached photograph was shot six times when she jumped in front of her mother to protect her from the gunman.



Brief Analysis
The claims in the message are true although the event described is certainly not recent. In December 2007, then seven year old Alexis Goggins of Detroit, USA sustained six gunshot wounds when she threw herself on top of her mother to protect her. The shots were fired by her mother's ex-boyfriend. Alexis and her mother both survived.

Last updated: July 26, 2012
First published: July 26, 2012
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
Research by David White, Brett Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Example


Detailed Analysis
This message, which is circulating via Facebook and other social media websites, claims that a seven year old girl saved her mother's life by jumping between her and a man intent on killing her. According to the message, the girl was shot six times during the attack but both her and her mother survived. The message includes a photograph of the young girl.

The attack described in the message did take place back in December 2007, in Detroit , USA. A December 5, 2007 article about the incident in the Detroit News notes:

DETROIT -- A 7-year-old-girl is being hailed as an "angel from heaven" and a hero for jumping in front of an enraged gunman, who pumped six bullets into the child as she used her body as a shield to save her mother's life.

Alexis Goggins, a first-grader at Campbell Elementary School, is in stable condition at Children's Hospital in Detroit recovering from gunshot wounds to the eye, left temple, chin, cheek, chest and right arm.

"She is an angel from heaven," said Aisha Ford, a family friend for 15 years who also was caught up in the evening of terror.

The attacker was a former boyfriend of Alexis's mother Selietha Parker. Selietha was also shot twice in the attack. The gunman Calvin Tillie, was arrested and disarmed by police at the scene. Both mother and daughter survived, although Alexis sustained serious injuries and has endured hospitalization and ongoing surgery to aid her recovery. An April 2011 news update about the case reports:

DETROIT (WXYZ) - It’s a bond between mother and daughter most people could never understand. When Alexis Goggins was just seven years-old she took six bullets as she tried to protect her mom, Selietha Parker.
"She was hit in the eye and now she is blind in the right eye. She was hit in the face and in her arms," Parker told Action News.
That was three years ago. Seven surgeries later, including an operation to put in an artificial eye, and Alexis is making a miraculous recovery.
"Everybody says wow - this kid walked away from something like that. It's a blessing," Parker said

Alexis is reportedly doing well although she continues to undergo treatment for her injuries.

References
Girl, 7, shot 6 times saving mom
7 y/o shot six times continues miraculous recovery

Last updated: July 26, 2012
First published: July 26, 2012
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
Research by David White, Brett Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer