‘This is a miracle’: 14-year-old boy off breathing tube after he was shot in head on Christmas Day

TEMPLE, Texas. (KWTX/Gray News) - Just days ago, a 14-year-old in Texas was fighting for his life after he was accidentally shot in the head on Christmas Day. Now, his mother is calling his recovery a miracle.

Ryen Harris-Contreras, 14, of Groesbeck, Texas, underwent surgery after he was shot and a portion of his skull was removed, his mother said.

So far this week, Ryen was taken off the breathing tube, squeezed a nurse’s fingers and opened his eyes while in the ICU at McLane Children’s Hospital in Temple.

“This isn’t just a survival, this is a miracle,” the boy’s mother said.

Ryen’s intracranial pressure monitor (ICP), which monitored the pressure in his brain and skull, has also been removed.

“When doctors said there was no hope, God whispered, ‘Watch what I can do,’” Ryen’s mother said.

The shooting happened in a home outside Groesbeck at about 8:20 p.m. on Dec. 25.

The sheriff said an investigation revealed another boy in the home “thought the rifle was unloaded when it fired” and struck Ryen with a round.

“It seems that this was an accidental discharge of the weapon rather than intentional,” the sheriff said.