One year ago today, 13-year-old Corey Young, his parents, and younger siblings were on their way home from a family outing when someone pulled up alongside their vehicle and opened fire.

Corey was critically injured. He was shot in the side and sustained six broken ribs as well as internal damage to his liver and colon.

Now in the seventh grade at Fultondale High School, Corey’s mother said he has made a miraculous recovery, and said she is so proud of his resilience.

Corey spent 40 days in the hospital and once released he went back to playing sports – football and basketball – despite wearing a colostomy bag. The procedure has since been surgically reversed and the bag removed.

“He never cried, he has never complained,” said Shalanda Lawrence. “I look him and Lulu (Lulu Gribbin who was attacked by a shark nearly one year ago) and all they’ve done, and I think, ‘What are these kids made of?‘”

“I’m still getting phone calls and texts,” Lawrence said. “I’m just grateful for all the prayers.”

The family on March 30, 2024, had gone to Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park in Homewood and then McDonald’s. It was family bonding time before the kids returned to school from spring break.

Lawrence said they were crossing over the railroad tracks near Midfield High School about 11 p.m. when someone they know drove up alongside them and opened fire.

“I saw a gunshot, but I thought he was just shooting into the air,” Lawrence said. “I didn’t think he shot into the car until my son was like, ‘Ma, I’ve been shot.‘”

“Everybody in the car was screaming and hollering and I was like, ‘No baby, you’re not shot’,” Lawrence said. “He said, ‘Ma, I’ve have been shot. My side, it’s hurting.‘”

Corey then tried to crawl into the front seat, collapsing between his parents.

The family stopped the car at the Circle K and Lawrence was yelling for someone to call 911. Midfield police received the call, and it was then transferred to dispatchers at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

“Blood was everywhere,” Lawrence said.

They decided to drive Corey to Princeton Baptist Medical Center because it was the closest hospital. Lawrence called 911 on the way and asked that deputies meet them there.

The medical staff at Princeton stabilized Corey and gave him some blood transfusions.

“He lost a pretty big amount of blood due to his liver,” she said.

Lawrence said the suspect fired three to four shots, but she thinks only one of them entered their vehicle.

Corey was shot in the side and sustained six broken ribs as well as internal damage to his liver and colon. His mom said Corey saw what was happening and covered his younger siblings to protect them.

Once stabilized at Princeton, he was transferred to Children’s of Alabama where he underwent a three-hour surgery to repair the internal damage, which included removing a portion of Corey’s colon.

Mondricus Emond Cooks, 35, is charged with five counts of attempted murder and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. He was booked into the Jefferson County Jail on April 3, 2024, and remains held on bonds totaling $280,000.

There has been, Lawrence said, an ongoing feud with the suspect for several years.

Lawrence said it has been a tough year, more so for her than Corey.

“My other son runs track and when they shoot the gun to start a race, my nerves are just shot, even though I know it’s coming,‘’ she said. “I don’t think you ever get used to it, after going through something like that.”

“There are some days he doesn’t want to be bothered, and I know he’s feeling some kind of way,” she said.

“But he never complains and never cries. I’m the one mad at the world,” she said. “He’s like, ‘Mom, come on, I’m still here.”

Physically, she said, Corey is thriving.

“He’s doing perfect,” she said. “You wouldn’t even know the incident happened a year ago.”

“He said he’s not even mad at him (the suspect),” she said.

Lawrence said the shooting did open her children’s eyes, as they have not been raised around violence.

“My kids aren’t used to that,” she said. “I think it did make him look at the world differently.”

As for Lawrence, she’s become American Red Cross certified in first aid for severe trauma – also known as Stop the Bleed.

“At that moment, I didn’t know what to do,” Lawrence said, “and you never know when I’ll be in a situation where I could help somebody.”