The road to recovery has only just begun for 6-year old Coby Daniel after he was allegedly shot by a neighbor.
The gunshot wound to Coby’s arm is obvious, but now, the boy’s father, Arnold Daniel, says mental injuries have begun to surface.
Speaking exclusively with TMZ, Arnold says his son has begun to display signs of post traumatic stress disorder. Signs include Coby’s inability to sleep on his own, something his father says he has done since the age of two.
On June 6, the Ypsilanti Township was stunned when Coby went to retrieve his bike from his neighbor Ryan Le-Nguyen’s yard, and instead was allegedly met with violence.
“He tried hitting me with a sledgehammer but that’s not going to work because I’m too fast,” recalled Coby when speaking with Fox2 Detroit.
He then said Nguyen grabbed a gun and shot him. A neighbor’s security camera caught the shocking incident as it unfolded.
”Right now, he’s not even processing what happened. He doesn’t realize how close he came to not being here, but I realize it,” said Daniel a week ago.
Coby’s father now says his son will not only require physical therapy — once his wound heals— but now also therapy to unpack the incident. The first appointment is schedule for the week of June 21.
He says the boy is confused and asking, “Why would [Nguyen] do that?”
Coby is surrounded by his father and family, each grappling with unimaginable event. To help cover the cost of recovery, Daniel launched a GoFundMe account with the goal of reaching $10,000.
”His whole family is affected by this and are struggling to make ends meet as well as deal with trauma of almost losing Coby. We are so thankful to have Coby still and would appreciate anything!!!,” reads a message from the family on the donation page.
An Every Town Research report on youth gun violence found that 15,000 children were wounded between 2015 to 2019. The analysis found that Black and Hispanic children and teens were more likely to be victims of gun violence and to suffer from PTSD.
As for Nguyen, he was arrested by Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office and charged with assault with intent to murder. He was initially released on a $10,000 bond but public outcry moved prosecutors to seek a $100,000 bond and Nguyen’s return to custody.
