MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Brittney Ireland is the mother of four children who were all shot in a I-240 road rage shooting on June 11.
The mother said her oldest child, Kyree, is wheelchair-bound, while all four kids are still recovering and traumatized from the shooting. Her boyfriend, Antonio, was also shot and has been released from the hospital.
A family friend said there are multiple fake GoFundMes attempting to scam people trying to donate to Ireland.
If you would like to help the family, you can reach Ireland at brittneyireland59@gmail.com. The family's legitimate GoFundMe is called Support "The Britts" Road to Recovery, and it can be found HERE.
The GoFundMe was organized by the mother's aunt, who said the funds will go toward the following expenses:
- Medical bills for the children’s treatments and ongoing care
- Rehabilitation and therapy costs
- Essential living expenses for the family while Brittney and Antonio are unable to work
- Support for any additional needs as the children and their father heal and recover
Ireland is currently figuring out how to make her home more accessible so she can bring her kids home from the hospital.
"That Tuesday afternoon I got a call around 5:17," Ireland recalled. "I remember it like it was yesterday, and their dad, Antonio, called me and said that Kyree got shot."
She said her 8-year-old son, Kyree, was sitting in the front passenger seat with Antonio driving on I-240 with her three 3-year-olds — Antonio Jr. and twins Ace and Zuri — in the back.
"I was actually at Home Depot," she said. "We were going to barbecue, and I was going to plant my flowers outside."
She arrived at Baptist East with the idea that her oldest was the only one hurt, but she then discovered everybody had been shot.
Eighteen-year-old Lorenzo Watson and 21-year-old Kendrick Ray are in jail, both facing a host of charges, including six counts each of attempted first-degree murder from that shooting Memphis police say started from road rage.
"You seen my child in that front seat," Ireland said. "He's eight. So, he's not this big eight-year-old, and I know you seen those little babies in the back seat, and you just didn't care."
Six hours later, Ace, the three-year-old boy twin, was the first out of surgery.
"He was shot in the stomach four times," Ireland said. "The bullet was stuck in the intestines, so they had to cut part of the intestines and re-route them just to take the bullet out. He had to go seven days with no water, no food. He was supposed to discharge yesterday, but they found a tumor in his knee now."
Her second-oldest son, three-year-old Antonio Jr., was the second out of surgery after being shot twice — once in each arm.
"Both of his arms are in casts, so I have to be careful with him," she said. "I have to pick him up under his armpits because his arms are stuck...He can only move his fingers."
Her oldest, Kyree, who is also autistic, has the most severe injuries. He was shot in the hand and the leg.
"They were able to save the hand, and he's going to have to have two prosthetic fingers," the mother said. "The other gunshot wound came in the leg. It's stuck in the femur bone, which is the bone that helps us stand. It's the growth bone, so by the bullet being stuck in there, and the bones on the side being crushed, his leg won't grow, so they have to stunt the growth in the other leg."
"Zuri, she got grazed five times," Ireland said. "She didn't really get shot, but if she had, she'd probably be paralyzed because all of hers are in her back."
Ireland had to quit both her jobs, and as she prepares to bring her kids home, she has new purpose in fighting crime. Especially after finding out Kendrick Ray was out on a $500 bond from a previous crime at the time of the shooting.
"I want to come up with a law and call it the Britt's Act," she said. "It should be if somebody harms a child while doing a dangerous act, they should not be able to get a bond. You need to serve that time."
Ireland said she plans to closely follow the suspects' court cases. She wants to be in the courtroom and look them in the eye as she speaks on her family's behalf.