'Magic' Day For Young Sniper Victim
The 13-year-old who survived an October sniper shooting in suburban Washington has had a "Magic" day.
The Magic and their sponsors paid for Iran and his family to take a Florida vacation, complete with a chance to shoot baskets with the team, visit Walt Disney World and attend two NBA games.
The first stop for sniper victim Iran Brown was morning practice with the Orlando Magic and a chance to meet Tracy McGrady.
He "just stands out better than all the other players," said Iran, holding a pair of autographed shoes. "He has a nice shot, a great shot."
"I thought it would be a good idea for him to come down, hang out with a couple of guys, shoot around and get a chance to go to a game, Disney World," McGrady said Monday. "Hopefully, he'll enjoy this time. It's good to have him down."
Iran became the eighth victim of the shooting spree that terrorized Washington and its suburbs when he was shot Oct. 7 on his way into middle school in Bowie, Md.
He was hospitalized for several weeks with severe injuries to major organs, including his spleen, stomach and pancreas. His spleen was removed.
"I can only play for a short while, but I'm feeling good," said Iran, who has also met first lady Laura Bush.
John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, are in jail awaiting trial on murder charges. Authorities have linked them to 19 shootings, including 13 deaths, in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, as well as Louisiana, Georgia and Alabama.
Shortly after the attack, McGrady heard that Iran was a fan and sent him a jersey.
"As athletes, we really don't know how inspirational we are to a lot of people," said McGrady, the NBA's leading scorer at 29.3 points a game. "It was really touching."
McGrady was to miss Monday night's game against Milwaukee because of a back bruise sustained a week ago. He is eyeing a Christmas Day return against Detroit.
"It's nice when you have a guy looking up to one of your players," Magic coach Doc Rivers said. "And it's nice when that player is a pretty good guy."