The 14-year-old girl who was left with severe brain damage amid the Kalamazoo shooting spree has spoken her first word since the attack — “pig.”
Abigail Kopf was feared to be dead in the aftermath of the shooting last month in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, one of three sites where Uber driver Jason Dalton sprayed bullets during a rampage.
She is now on a long road to recovery and was able to make reference to her pet, a pig named Hamlet, in her first word since being shot.
Kopf’s family announced the “huge milestone” on a GoFundMepage for her medical expenses, and added that it has spurred hopes she will regain her speech.
At one point her parents had been making plans to donate their daughter’s organs until the teenager squeezed her mom’s hand, but the girl was able to go from the hospital to a rehab center this week.
Abigail Kopf, 14, has uttered her first word since being injured in the Kalamazoo shooting last month, "pig," a reference to Hamlet, her porcine pet.
Dalton killed six people in his shooting rampage on Feb. 20, including four older women with whom Kopf had gone to the restaurant after seeing a show.
Tiana Carruthers, a 26-year-old mother who put herself between Dalton and a group of playing children when he drove up to a housing complex, is also recovering after being hit by four bullets.
Carruthers was hit in both legs, but has begun to walk again and is expected to heal within 12 months, Borgess Medical Center chief of staff Thomas Rohs told WOOD.
A GoFundMepage for Carruthers had raised $15,000 as of Saturday morning.