Mahkayla Jones, Italy High Student Shot 6 Times, Says Of Shooter 'I Can't Forget That, But I Can Forgive Him'
WAXAHACHIE, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - An 18-year-old former high school student received 80 years worth of prison sentences, although he likely will serve 20 to 40 years.
Chad Padilla, a teenager from Italy, Texas pleaded guilty to attempted capital murder in the campus shooting at Italy High School.
Student Mahkayla Noelle Jones was shot six times. She survived the school shooting, and provided a victim impact statement against Padilla in the Ellis County Courthouse Monday.
"He looked at me until I said 'my greatest fear is you'," Jones recounted after her court appearance.
It was January of 2018, some students attending Italy High gathered in the school cafeteria.
Jones and Padilla were talking when he pulled a semi-automatic handgun and started shooting her.
The gunfire sent dozens of students running.
No one else was physically harmed.
Jones said she often had fears of Padilla harming her again, and was pleased with the punishment after his guilty plea for the shooting.
"I was taught to forgive and forget. I can't forget what he did to me. I wake up and look in the mirror and see the scars from him. I can't forget that, but I can forgive him. Whether I hold a grudge or not, it's not going to change what happened to me," Jones said Monday.
Ellis County District Attorney Patrick Wilson said the punishment for Padilla was based on four charges, ranging from Attempted Capital Murder to Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
"This is a young man with a history of disturbing violent tendencies toward animals, his peers, and he had been afforded opportunities for rehabilitation and help, and nothing worked," Wilson said.
Mahkayla Jones will be a senior at Italy High School when classes resume in August.