The teen allegedly shot by his stepfather last week in a case of domestic violence says it is a miracle he is alive.
Corey Dooley, 15, a sophomore at South Grand Prairie High School, recalled the night he was shot, saying his stepfather will suffer in prison more than he has in the hospital.
"When I first came in, I wasn't supposed to make it through the surgery," Dooley said from his hospital bed in Methodist Dallas Medical Center. "A miracle happened from God, and he just saved me. And now I'm alive."
Dooley's estranged stepfather, Richard Richard, is jailed in connection with the shooting.
Dooley said he clearly remembers the night Richard shot him and his mother as they returned home from a football game.
His mother was not seriously injured, but Dooley was shot in his leg and twice in his chest.
"We were pulling in the garage," he said. "I just looked and said, 'Oh God.' I turned toward my mother -- I was in the passenger's seat -- I turned to cover my mother. I felt something hit me in the back."
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He said the next shot hit him in the chest.
His mother sped away.
"I didn't think I was going to make it. But I just kept yelling 'Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,' at my mom and brother."
He said his stepfather deserves to spend a long time behind bars.
"He's going to suffer more than me and my family have, and we're not even suffering right now," he said.
After a remarkable treatment that included 13 blood transfusions and several surgeries, Dooley is looking forward to getting out of the hospital and going back to school soon and playing football for the Warriors.
Doctors say he'll make a full recovery.
"I'm just mainly looking ahead right now," he said. "I'm just kind of fighting through the pain. There's no need to be hurt if you know there is going to be good in the future."
Dooley is the son of NBC 5 DFW photojournalist C.J. Johnson.
