Michigan Teen Injured in Uber-Driver Shooting Says 'I'm a Warrior Princess'
— -- A Michigan teenager says she feels like a "warrior princess" after surviving a mass shooting that left her critically injured.
Abigail Kopf, 14, is finally home two months after being shot and nearly killed in the February shooting. She was one of two people injured during multiple shootings in the Kalamazoo area that left six dead.
The accused shooter, then-Uber driver Jason Dalton, has been arrested and charged with murder.
Abigail's injuries, which included being shot in the head, were so severe that her heart stopped and her medical team was concerned she might become brain dead, according to Bronson Children's Hospital, where she was treated. The teen is now able to walk and talk, telling ABC News she hopes she can do "cartwheels again" after she recovers.
"I'm a warrior princess," Abigail said.
Abigail is not completely out of the woods yet because she'll need more surgery on her skull in the upcoming months. But her mother said the teen has improved greatly in the weeks since the shooting.
"She can walk, she can do stairs, she can pretty much move very well on her own," mom Vicki Kopf said.
Kopf said her daughter has shown great strength as she continues to recover, spending six weeks in a rehabilitation center after the shooting.
"She's one strong, strong little girl," Kopf said of her daughter.
Abigail agreed with her mom, saying, "Yeah, I am."
The teen had been at a concert with her family when she was injured. Her grandmother died in the shooting, authorities said. They were shot walking back to their car after the concert.
Kalamazoo police Det. Cory Ghiringhelli told the court that Dalton, 45, admitted to investigators "that he took people's lives."
Dalton, a Kalamazoo resident, was arrested on Feb. 21 after allegedly going on the shooting rampage in three separate incidents the day before. He was charged with six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder and eight charges of using a firearm during the commission of a felony. A "not guilty" plea was entered on Dalton's behalf by the judge at his arraignment, according the prosecutor assigned to the case.
A judge has denied bail for Dalton.
