Philadelphia teen shot in the head last fall makes miraculous recovery

A Philadelphia 17-year-old was shot in the head when a fight broke out shortly after school last October. The teen said the bullet was centimeters from striking his brain stem.

PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia teenager has made a miraculous recovery after he was hit in the head by a stray bullet that came within ‘centimeters’ of striking his brain stem.

Last October, 16-year-old Ivan was near Jean’s Pizzeria and Grill at Rowland and Ryan avenues with some friends after dismissal from Abraham Lincoln High School.

According to the Philadelphia Police Department, a fight broke out and 21-year-old Aaron Scott opened fire. One of the bullets struck and killed 66-year-old Jeffery Carter who happened to be driving through the intersection.

Ivan was struck in the head by the indiscriminate gunfire as he was trying to run away. The bullet came close to claiming Ivan's young life.

"It went in right here behind his ear, from the blast of it, it blew his ear open," Ivan’s mom Natali said. "It was skin of the teeth close to the brain stem, it just missed him not being able to walk and just normal functionality."

Two plainclothes officers near the shooting quickly arrested Scott.

Ivan was placed in critical condition immediately after the shooting, Natali and Ivan's stepmom Rhiannon described his initial status as touch and go. But soon after they started to notice incremental improvements.

Ivan powered through more than one surgery, including brain surgery, and spent exactly one month in the hospital before moving to in-patient care at Moss Rehab. One month and five days after that, he got to surprise his family before Christmas.

"I had a lot of support through it with my mom, my stepmom. It's not all physically, it's mentally too," Ivan, who is now 17, said. "Not only you go through it. I went through it, but my whole family around me went through it."

When Ivan first came home he could not eat solid foods and needed help walking and getting around, but now Natali said "he's just like normal."

A Philadelphia 17-year-old was shot in the head when a fight broke out shortly after school last October. The teen said the bullet was centimeters from striking his brain stem.

The bullet that nearly shattered his teenage life will remain in his head, his parents said. Doctors do not want to remove it and risk further damage.

Ivan currently goes to school virtually for a few hours a week and rehab twice a week, and enjoys sharing updates and answering questions about his recovery on TikTok.

Doctors told him he will get movement back on the right side of his face, it just may require a future surgery. With the exception of getting an MRI, they expect him to live without any limitations in about a year.

"I just wanted to follow-up and spread that I'm OK," Ivan said. "Guns are never the answer."