Milwaukee 15-year-old shot in the head has new outlook on life

MILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee 15-year-old shot in the head is sharing his story of survival and his new view on life.

A bullet still lodged in Jayvion Lark's face, he and his mom wanted to talk about the shooting that nearly killed him in an interview with FOX6 News on Monday, Oct. 4, as they hope to change and save lives. 

"I just heard bullets hitting the car," said Lark. "I just grabbed my face and blood was everywhere."

Lark described the day he nearly lost his life.

"I didn’t know I got hit," said Lark. "That’s how fast it happened, and I couldn’t feel it until after."

Lark was shot in the head while inside a car near Congress and Appleton Sept. 26. He showed FOX6 News where the bullet entered.

"The bullet hit him on the left side of his face over there," said Lakila Hampton, Lark's mother. "It went through and lodged on the right side of his cheek."

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With most of Lark's face still swollen, it was hard for him to talk, but he said he is not in any physical pain.

"I kept telling myself, ‘I’m not dying today,’" said Lark.

Instead of taking the teen to the hospital, the people he was with dropped him off in a Milwaukee neighborhood.

"Should have took me to the hospital, like I said," said Lark. "I was hollering, ‘Take me to the hospital.’"

Before the shooting, the 15-year-old hadn’t been home in a day and was hanging with the wrong crowd. 

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"He just has to choose his friends wisely," said Hampton. "Now that this has happened, there are a lot of positive people that reached out to my son. We’re going to take that and run with it."

After nearly dying, Lark is recovering, focused on finishing school and sharing this message:

"Listen to your momma when she tells you something," said Lark. "She was telling me to come home, and I wasn’t listening."

Doctors will decide whether to remove or leave the bullet in Lark's face. He does not believe he was the intended target of the shooting.