DETROIT – Taylor Anderson did not plan on spending her birthday with her right arm in a full cast and hospital bracelets still fresh on her wrist.
The balloons gifted to her are not just to celebrate her 14th birthday, but to celebrate she is still alive.
"The bullet is still in there to this day," Taylor said. "I'm so upset that the day before my birthday I get shot. I couldn't even have that much fun at my party last night."
On Sunday afternoon, Taylor was at the corner of Ward and Wodsworth avenues in Detroit with her brother when their 15-year-old friend came out of nowhere.
"He said, 'Can you help me clean out this house?' that his mama just bought. I said, 'Yeah,'" Taylor said.
That's when things went from friendly to dangerous.
"He just asked, 'Do you see the bullet holes in the wall?'" she said.
Minutes later, the 15-year-old pulled out that gun and shot Taylor in the arm. Taylor ran down the street screaming for her family.
"I got so frantic I just threw her in my car and rushed to Sinai-Grace Hospital," said the teen's mother, Chaka Marls.
The teen now is surrounded by loved ones and get-well wishes. She is in good spirits.
Her family is still looking for answers.
"I think he did it just being bad. Just, you know, he wanted to show other kids that are younger than him that he is tougher, badder or whatever the case may be," said Taylor's aunt, Ebony Irby.
Police are searching for the 15-year-old who they believe still has the gun, too. He recently moved from the neighborhood. Any with information on the shooting or the suspect should contact Detroit police.