Family seeks answers after Forney student wounded by officer's gun
NORTH TEXAS – The mother of a Forney high school student says everyone should be appalled by the way her daughter has been treated after an officer's gun went off during a fight.
On Dec. 19, the last day of school before winter break, a large crowd of rowdy teenagers flooded a neighborhood across from North Forney High School.
When Kaufman County Sheriff's deputies and other authorities arrived to break up a reported fight, one of their guns accidentally discharged and injured five people.
Since then, the teenager's family says neither authorities nor the school district have contacted them to apologize or explain what happened.
"I just felt like a little sting. I didn't pay my mind to it," said Malayah Voyles, a 17-year-old who spent the holidays healing but still in pain and stuck at home. "I can't really leave the house because of the pain the cold causes," she said.
The teenager said she was just among the dozens of other students observing the fight on the walk home from school when she was wounded.
Her mother, Medina Morris, took her to a hospital for treatment, which included X-rays that showed the bullet fragment in her daughter's leg.
"I just want answers. I just want to know who, what, when, where, and why," Morris said.
Morris said she's yet to receive answers to those questions or receive even a hint of concern or sympathy from anyone with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office or Forney ISD.
"No one reaches out at the school or the police department. No one reaches out. That's very discouraging," Morris said.
Her daughter, Malayah, said her classmates have visited and checked on her, but she would like to hear from the deputy responsible.
"If it was a moment that you know was a mistake or so you claim, I feel like if you were sympathetic about the situation, you would apologize after not knowing what God knows what would've happened," she said.
The Kaufman County Sheriff's Office referred any questions to the Texas Rangers, which are investigating.
CBS News Texas didn't receive a response from Forney ISD, which has previously said the incident occurred off school property.
Meanwhile, Morris said her daughter has transferred to another school in Mesquite because of what happened.
