"Don't give up:" Boy who shot himself in the head with his grandmother's gun celebrates his fifth birthday

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- You could say one of the biggest tragedies in our community over the past year has been all of the innocent children hit by bullets as a result of irresponsible adults. Many have died -- but Keyontist Moffett beat the odds.

Keyontist Moffett accidentally shot himself on March 19th, 2014 after he got his hands on a gun that was in a shoebox underneath a bed in a bedroom at his grandmother's home near 45th and Locust. His grandmother, 49-year-old Renee Smith pleaded guilty to a felony charge of second degree recklessly endangering safety, and was sentenced to nine months in the House of Correction.

"The head surgeon came down and told us there was nothing he could do for him. He wasn't going to make it. After he told us that, I felt like I had died," Laquida Jordan, the mother of the little boy whom everyone calls Rusty told FOX6 News.

Jordan wouldn't give up -- even as her own mother was the one accused of leaving a loaded gun within the reach of young children.

"We had a lot of sleepless nights. We stayed at the hospital from March 18th to April 16th," Jordan said.

In May, another child was shot in Milwaukee. Ten-year-old Sierra Guyton was caught in the crossfire -- shot in the head as she played on a playground near 28th and Clarke. She was taken off of life support in July. Two men have been sentenced to prison in that case.

Also in May -- three-year-old Kevin Donald was shot after he found his mother's gun in a vehicle's glove compartment. His mother was not charged.

After all these incidents, Moffett's mother helped pass out gun locks in the neighborhood. But there would be more children who would suffer.

Four-year-old Ja'Nyela Marsh-Highshaw was shot in the head as she sat in a vehicle near 18th and Villa in Racine in November. No one has been taken into custody in that case.

Also in November -- five-year-old Laylah Peterson was shot and killed as she sat on her grandfather's lap after shots were fired into a home near 58th and Fairmount. No one has been arrested.

"Laylah -- that was blocks away from our house. Walking to the car, I heard the gunshots," Moffett's mother said.

Thirteen-month-old Bill Thao was killed when bullets were fired into a home near 73rd and Mill in December.  Two men have been charged in connection with that shooting.



Moffett's mother says her son was in a coma for a month.

"He always told us he was a superhero, so we told him to use his magic powers and be strong and wake up," Jordan said.

Rusty's super powers worked. His waking life became a whirlwind of skilled nursing, tubes and prayers.

Recently, the four-year-old whom doctors said wouldn't survive celebrated his fifth birthday.

"I didn't think he would come this far, just from what the doctor was telling us," Jordan said.

Coming this far wasn't an easy task. Rusty has a plate in his head to cover the hole in his skull left by the bullet, and a scar on his right forehead will be with him forever. He is now in a school with other children with challenges of their own -- at the Milwaukee Center for Independence. There are constant reminders of that tragic day in March.

"For instance, if they're playing football he only has the one hand to catch it with. He likes to sleep on the top bunk but he can't climb up the ladder," Jordan said.

On his fifth birthday, Rusty couldn't remember what happened back in March 19th. He doesn't know why he has a hole in his skull. His parents will tell him more when he's older. On his birthday, he had a simple message for his mom: "Thank you...for cake."

"Don't give up. I see through my kid if I didn't give up, he didn't give up," Moffett's father said.

Rusty Moffett's parents say the message here is not to leave guns within the reach of a child -- and not to use them irresponsibly.