BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — One of the teachers who survived Wednesday’s shooting at Apalachee High School is on the road to recovery after being shot twice.
David Phenix’s wife posted an update on his condition on social media on Friday, saying he has already undergone two surgeries.
She says that Phenix was shot in the hip, shattering his hip bone, but the surgeon was able to piece it back together so the muscles could be reattached.
The bullet that hit his foot “shot clean through exactly in an area that had no bone or tendons,” Phenix’s wife explained.
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Phenix’s wife also shared more details about the terrifying moments he came face-to-face with the shooter.
She said that Phenix and fellow teacher Richard Aspinwall walked out of their classrooms to investigate what they thought was a fight or construction noise in the hallway. Moments later, suspected shooter 14-year-old Colt Gray shot them both, his wife says.
Phenix was able to get back into the classroom where his co-teacher and two students compressed his wounds and called for help.
“They saved his life, for sure! His students saved his life!” she wrote online.
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Aspinwall did not survive the injuries he sustained during the shooting.
Phenix’s wife said her husband is “struggling with everyone else’s pain in this tragedy.”
She says they are grateful for the outpouring of love and support for their family.
“We know you all are hurting, too, in your own way, about the horror and evil that you have seen, causing uncertainty and fear within, I’m so sorry. We know we serve a great God and somehow HE will get us ALL to a place of peace. I am putting all trust in God to put everything in place for all of us to heal,” she wrote.
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One of the other nine victims who survived the tragic shooting has been identified as Taylor Jones, who was airlifted to Grady Memorial Hospital after being shot on Wednesday. She remains in the hospital where she is currently listed as stable.
All nine people who survived being shot are expected to make full recoveries.
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