CHICAGO — A 17-year-old King College Prep student shot in the leg Tuesday afternoon in the same shooting that killed Hadiya Pendleton took the bullet for his girlfriend, the teen said on Twitter.
The shooting at a park near the school left Lawrence Sellers, 17, injured and left Hadiya, a 15-year-old King sophomore, dead.
“that coulda been me. i owe you so much. i love you so much. thank you. <3,” Sellers' girlfriend tweeted to him Tuesday.
Hadiya and Lawrence Sellers were shot after getting out of school at 1 p.m. Tuesday when final exams ended, authorities and other students said. A third person at the scene suffered a graze wound and walked to a nearby hospital, police said.
Friends were saluting Sellers for his heroism on Twitter after the incident, and thankful he was alive.
“Lawrence really is a hero. Takes a strong person to take a bullet for someone else.,” @RiniRozay tweeted.
"People dont know me as 'that dude that got exposed' now im 'that dude that took a bullet for his gf' :)," Sellers said.
He was grateful for the outpouring of support from friends and strangers.
"I didnt know so many people cared about me," he tweeted.
The injured teen was sending out messages from his hospital bed to keep friends updated on his condition Tuesday night.
"My leg hurt like f---," was his first tweet about the incident at 6:32 p.m. Tuesday.
“My leg so bloody,” he said. The bullet went through the “lower left part of my leg. It went in one side and out the other.”
"They threw away my elite socks. My shoes bloody too. :( I just bought these.," he said.
Sellers was adamant his leg injury wouldn't hold him back from playing sports.
"They said I'll never dunk a basketball again. Bet i prove them wrong," he tweeted. "The assistant principal came and told me that i have to get better so i can ride my skateboard again."
The teen also poured out condolences for Hadiya: "The worst things happen to the best people. #RIPHADIYA."
Wednesday morning, Sellers said his leg was still hurting, but "the blood dried up."
The shooting was still on his mind.
"The whole thing keep replaying in my head. :(," he Tweeted about 10 a.m. “...When i woke up this morning, i tried to get out this bed and must've forgot what had happened. :-/”
The teen wrote he has crutches but isn't using them.
Sellers offered a grim warning after the incident that took his friend's life and nearly his girlfriend's.
"i still cant believe i got shot today...It can happen to ANYONE."
