DeFuniak Springs community organized a fundraiser for young shooting victim

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) — The Defuniak Springs community is coming together to support a young boy with a harrowing story.

The Matrix Community Outreach Center is hosting a fundraiser for 12-year-old Tristan Jones. His family needs the money to pay Jones’ medical expenses after he was accidentally shot and hospitalized for months.

“That child is a walking miracle, and I will tell anybody and everybody that,” Jones’ mother Yardley Thompson said.

On May 2 2024, Jones went to bed after a busy day of helping his mom at work and boxing lessons. The young boy and his family didn’t know their lives were about to drastically change overnight.

“I went to sleep around 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. After that, I just fell asleep and when I woke up I was shot,” Jones said.

The shooter, 16-year-old Luiz Gonzalez, was actually friends with Jones’ older brother, or so they thought. Gonzalez’s intended target was the brother, but he hit the younger Jones instead.

“I couldn’t get up because my leg was paralyzed. I didn’t know if I could get up or not,” Jones said.

Jones’ mother said she knew something was terribly wrong when she heard her son screaming for help.

“I’m calling 911, grabbing paper towels and I’m applying pressure to his arm because his elbow was bleeding really bad,” Thompson said.

The bullet entered one side of Jones’ elbow, exited out the other, then re-entered his side, ricocheting off of his colon and spine. Jones was rushed to HCA Florida Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, then transported to a children’s hospital in Pensacola where he spent months recovering.

“He had approximately 20 surgeries in the three months of his stay at Pensacola,” Thompson said.

Jones also went through physical therapy in Jacksonville to regain his strength and ability to walk.

“I got to watch him struggle and succeed at the same time. I knew it was going to be hard, and I told him that it was going to be rough, but he had to keep pushing himself,” Thompson said.

“I went to my dad’s, he pushed me and I pushed myself. He gave me the courage to stand up and start walking, so I did,” Jones said.

Despite the adversity he faced, Jones’ friends and family said he remained the same silly and charismatic kid throughout it all.

“I’m super proud of him. He never once lost his personality, never once,” Thompson said.

“If you have God with you, He’ll make sure that you’re okay. If you read the Bible, He’ll help you out a lot,” Jones said.

The Tristan Strong fundraiser is being held at the Walton County Fairgrounds this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be live music, food trucks, bounce houses, special guests, and a few surprises for Tristan.

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