WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - A survivor of gun violence walked in his high school graduation ceremony, Thursday.
Bryce Brewton was playing basketball at Arcola Lakes Park in Northwest Miami-Dade, back in 2014, when a gunman opened fire. Although he was seriously injured, the teen managed to make a milestone his family once feared he would not live to achieve.
Members of Northwestern Senior High School’s graduating class were honored Thursday at Florida International University.
“Nothing but tears and joy and excitement,” said Barbara Robinson, Brewton’s grandmother. “This day is another miracle in our lives.”
Tracey Wright, Brewton’s mother, said she’s proud of her son’s achievements. “I’m just overjoyed,” she said, “glad that he’s here, he’s made it, and just excited.”
Brewton’s classmates and mentors cheered for him as he walked across the graduation stage.
“I’m glad I’m here though. Could get my diploma, and be very thankful,” Brewton said.
Back in December 2014, Brewton was shot in the head. He credits God for helping him get through it. “The man above. Without Him, and without prayers from family, the church, I don’t know where I’d be.”
Police said Brewton was one of nine young men targeted in a drive-by shooting. His family believes it was a Christmas miracle that Brewton, then 16, survived.
“One thing about God … He never fails us,” Robinson said. “This family is full of miracles, and God has shown us another miracle here today. They said he wasn’t going to be able to walk, he wasn’t going to be able to drive, but if you witness him here now, you know that God is good.”
During the ceremony, the families of Randall Robinson and Maurice Harris were recognized for their loss. The victims’ families received posthumous diplomas after they were killed in 2015.
“We feel your pain, for we, too, feel deep loss for our classmates but please remember they will always be a part of our lives,” said one speaker. “In the words of Maya Angelou, ‘We may encounter many defeats, but we must never be defeated.'”
The 17-year-olds were killed three days apart, just a block apart, when a car pulled up and the shooters got out and opened fire.
The past year was a horrific one from Northwestern High School students, with eight students shot and five of them killed. On this bittersweet graduation day, the graduating class received their diplomas and honored their fallen classmates as they embrace the next chapter in their lives.
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