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Meridian teen paralyzed from September drive-by shooting

Braedon Hubbard was a random victim in the Nampa shooting, according to Braedon and his mother Melissa Kent. He returned home Thursday from a Denver hospital.

MERIDIAN, Idaho — Braedon Hubbard returned home to Meridan Thursday after spending months in a Denver Hospital.

Braedon is paralyzed in his lower body and has to relearn how to use his hands and even how to breathe on his own.

"I was in the way. Wrong place, wrong time," Braedon said.

Someone shot Braedon during a drive-by shooting in Nampa on September 11, 2021. Braedon and his family moved to the area from Las Vegas a few months before the shooting. 

Braedon was at a party with his new friends when a fight broke out, according to the Nampa Police Department (NPD).

Police have not made any arrests related to the shooting, according to NPD Public Information Officer Carmen Boeger. Braedon is a random victim in the shooting, he said.

"[The bullet] grazed his lung, which made it collapse while he was in the ambulance," Braedon's mother, Melissa Kent said. "It's caused him to be paralyzed. He's lost the use of his legs."

The family moved from their two-story home, to a single-story home, to accommodate Braedon's needs and his new life in a motorized chair. 

Kent also had to leave her job and learn how to be his caretaker; resulting in a financial stress to the family on top of the emotional pain.

"It's an anger I can't hang onto, because we're better than that," Kent said.

Questions still linger about the incident; like whom, or why, would somebody do this?

"I think about the day, that if it ever comes, that we could say something to whoever did this, but I don't even know if they're worth my words because I don't feel like it would even matter to them." Kent said. "They took everything away from him."

RELATED: Two teens injured in Nampa drive-by shooting, hit and run incident

The family needs an accessible van for Braedon, so he can live a life outside their home. The vans can cost between $50,000 and $80,000, according to Kent.

The family has set up a fundraiser link through GoFundMe for anyone interested in supporting the family. The link can be found by clicking here.

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