‘The bullet is in her spine:’ Teen girl shot at Africville reunion faces long recovery

The teenager was hit by a bullet as she held a toddler and was taken to hospital, her cousin said. Police have said four other people were also taken to hospital.

A week after shots were fired during a reunion of former residents of a historic Black community in Halifax, a teenager remains in hospital with a bullet in her body, and a local church has organized a “circle of lament.”

Tanya Gray, the cousin of 17-year-old Chrishia Carvery, said her relative was one of the five people caught in crossfire at the gathering in Africville park at 10 p.m. on July 27.

“I’ve had all the emotions: fear, shock, rage, crying,” said Gray, who said Carvery is a vivacious, family-oriented youth who had spent the day keeping an eye on her young cousins.

The teenager was hit by a bullet as she held a toddler, and was taken to hospital, Gray said. Police have said four other people were also taken to hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

The shooting occurred during the annual Africville reunion, normally a peaceful and celebratory event that unites former residents — and their descendants — of a predominantly Black community that was demolished in the 1960s.

Gray said she often looked after her cousin. Since the shooting, Gray has visited Carvery in hospital and has been helping the teenager’s mother.

“The bullet is in her spine, and the doctor has said they cannot remove it because it would cause more damage than good,” she said.

“I just think about how it could affect her for the rest of her life,” said Gray, adding she’s praying there will be no permanent paralysis.