MADISON, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Madison teen is lucky to be alive Monday after being shot in the head while trying to sell his scooter on Facebook Marketplace.
Currently, Metro Nashville Police Department officers are looking for the shooter. It was supposed to be a simple transaction arranged on Facebook Marketplace — two people meeting at an apartment parking lot in Madison. But then something went terribly wrong.
Preston Kyle Colson, 19, nearly died after suffering a gunshot wound to the head.
"Oh, he was bleeding horribly out of his right ear. You could see the entry wound," said his grandfather Wystan Colson.
The video above shows just how terrible the wounds were, consider watching for a better perspective.
Preston's grandfather was concerned about his grandson going alone to meet a man who wanted to buy his electric scooter, so he went with him Friday night.
The grandfather waited in the car when Preston got out.
"I heard pop and I looked around — where's Preston? He's laying on the ground shot in the head — all over a simple electric scooter sale," his grandfather said.
There was a confrontation, and Preston managed to use his pepper spray before he was shot.
"He felt he was being robbed, assaulted," his grandfather said.
The shooter escaped with an accomplice in a car, leaving the scooter behind and Preston gravely injured on the pavement.
"It's been very ... it's been very difficult. I almost saw my grandson die in front of me."
The bullet missed Preston's brain. It ended up lodging in his spine with no paralysis but he will still need surgery and rehab.
Incredibly, the teen was conscious, actually giving the thumbs up to his family just hours after the incident at the hospital.
"I asked: how are you feeling Preston? And he held that thumb up and I thought it was a miracle," said the grandfather.
Was this an arranged ambush or something else?
MNPD have made no arrests, and anyone with information is urged to contact the police.
A GoFundMe is set up to help cover Preston's medical bills.
He is scheduled for surgery on his face at Vanderbilt University Medical Center later this week.
