OLYPHANT — A 12-year-old borough boy is fighting for his life after he was shot in the chest by a 14-year-old on Sunday evening, according to the organizer of a GoFundMe campaign raising money for his family.
Police responded to the 100 block of Susquehanna Avenue near Nestor Chylak Drive at about 8:30 p.m. and found the 12-year-old with a gunshot wound to his chest. The organizer of the GoFundMe campaign identified the boy as Bentley.
Police flooded the borough in an extensive search and arrested three juveniles allegedly involved in the shooting. The 14-year-old shooter is charged as a juvenile with attempted murder, aggravated assault and related counts, according to the Lackawanna County district attorney’s office.
Bentley was flown to Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville with a bullet wound to his chest, a collapsed lung and other serious injuries, according to the GoFundMe page.
The site of a Sunday night shooting in Olyphant has reverted to a spot in a quiet neighborhood this week. A local pastor who heads up a church about two blocks away said he was surprised by the shooting, but also sees it as an opportunity for ministry. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Rescue & Restore Church members prayed at the site of a Sunday shooting during their mid-week service. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
An effort to help
Candice May, a friend of Bentley’s family, wanted to do something to help.
On Tuesday, she posted a GoFundMe campaign, “Hearts4Bentley: Surviving Gun Violence.”
On Sunday night, 12-year-old Bentley was shot while walking to the local dollar store to get snacks for a movie night with his family. Now at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville, he’s in a fight for his life. (SUBMITTED)
“I don’t even know why this happened,” she said. “There was no reason for it. The family is devastated.”
May said Bentley was walking to Family Dollar with his brother and other friends to get snacks for a movie night.
“A couple kids decided to pick a fight,” she said.
Now, Bentley is in a hospital bed resolved to recover, she said.
May said Bentley is responding, but still struggling with pain and fighting off infection.
“He’s not talking very much, but he is talking. He is smiling. He’s doing everything he can possibly do to stay alive. He’s a champ.”
May has high hopes he will pull through.
“Doctors are going to be talking about how incredibly lucky he was that the bullet didn’t hit his heart for a long time,” she said. “It was almost dead center. It’s so incredible. He must have had an angel watching over him that night.”
May said the groups of boys might have had disagreements in the past, but she doesn’t believe the shooting was gang related.
Those who want to contribute financially to Bentley’s family for medical expenses can do so at gofundme.com/f/hearts4bentley-surviving-gun-violence.
“The funds raised through this GoFundMe will go directly toward Bentley’s medical bills, ongoing treatments, and any necessary support for his family during this incredibly difficult time,” the fundraiser page states.
Being a good neighbor
Rescue and Restore Church pastor Jack Munley, who can see the site of the shooting from the front door of his church, was angry when he heard about the shooting, but not at the young people involved.
Instead, he felt angry that a quiet neighborhood would be rocked by such a crime, especially one that involved children.
Munley said the day after the shooting, church members prayed, not only for the victim but for the shooter. He said the church considers itself an integral part of the borough.
“It’s really quiet here, no problems,” he said. “This is a quiet community. I guess I’m righteously angry.”
But Munley said he isn’t scared and neither are his church members.
“We have a good relationship with police, with the mayor,” he said. “We feel safe.”
Munley is planning a prayer walk around the neighborhood that will pass the site of the shooting.
“Church is more than four walls,” he said. He wants young people to know that the doors of his church are always open.
Not only does faith provide a spiritual basis for behavior, but it also provides an avenue of help when it’s needed, he said.
Keeping guns from children
Sheli Pratt-McHugh, a gun violence prevention volunteer, started working to eradicate gun violence when her first child was born seven years ago.
Without knowing the specifics of what happened in the Olyphant shooting, she said it was likely a matter of a child having access to a firearm.
Pratt-McHugh works with gun control organizations to keep guns out of the hands of children and others who shouldn’t have them.
“When we say ‘secure storage,’ we mean guns locked, unloaded and with ammunition stored separately,” she said.
Unlike other states which have laws requiring gun owners to lock up their firearms, Pennsylvania does not, she said.
Locking up a gun inside a home or vehicle is just good practice in every case, she said, pointing out that locking up a firearm makes it less likely to be stolen and fall into the hands of criminals.
“The only law we have in Pennsylvania is if a tragedy happens,” she said. “Then an adult would get in trouble for not securing a gun, after the fact.”
Pratt-McHugh said local gun control organizations are also hoping to soon work with Lackawanna County school districts to prevent gun violence.