LUCKY TO BE ALIVE

A teen making a TikTok video has miraculously survived being shot in the head when she was caught in the crossfire of warring gangs

- KESHIA AFRICA

HER mother had warned her to spend as little time as possible outdoors. Over the past few months there’d been a spate of shootings in the area and her mom had sleepless nights worrying about her kids’ safety. However, like most teenagers Tania

Booysens* couldn’t resist making TikTok videos so she and a friend went to film some footage outside a neighbour’s house.

But what started as innocent fun turned into a nightmare when Tania was shot in the head by a stray bullet as rival gangs clashed in Beacon Valley in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town.

Initially things looked dire – Tania temporarily lost her eyesight and doctors told the family to expect the worst. But the girl, who recently turned 14, is now being described as a walking miracle.

Three days after surgery to remove the bullet lodged in the back of her head, she was discharged from hospital and is now recovering at home.

Tania knows how lucky she is. “You’re constantly hearing about how people die after being shot, especially after being hit in the head. It’s scary,” she tells YOU, sitting next to her mom, Zelda*, on the couch of the family home.

“I feel grateful to be alive.” For the first two weeks after her operation she was in a lot of pain but things are much better now, Tania says. “Today was the first day I didn’t need to take pain medicine because it wasn’t as bad.”

Her daughter is getting stronger every day, Zelda says. “Even the specialists have been amazed at her recovery. It isn’t often someone who is shot in the head walks away with only a hole to show for it.