Police say Davione St Mary was non-responsive and bleeding to death when paramedics arrived.
Today Davione enjoys the same things as most kids his age.
He likes tossing around a football, playing video games, and doing tricks with his mini skateboard.
But Davione has a story few his age have experienced or can even comprehend.
He received 40 to 50 pints of blood during weeks of touch-and-go surgeries.
He endured trauma few survive. He is a miracle.
"I just say thank you God for bringing me back and thank you the people that saved me," Davione said.
On Thanksgiving Day at dusk, a spray of gunfire sent family members scattering and screaming. Inside the back seat of a car was 9-year-old Davione.
A bullet ripped through his abdominal area. Chaos and panic followed.
The bullet tore the main artery in Davione's body and hit his spine.
Hospital workers told police Davione most likely would not survive, so members of the homicide team were assigned to the case.
Chris Serrano was the lead detective.
"So basically the car was parked right here, in this general area, and the crowd was probably gathered within this area here, And the shots were fired from a direction kinda similar to this here," Serrano said.
Police collected evidence and talked with everyone they thought may be able to track down the shooter.
"I think in this case especially, there needs to be answers. I don't think the community needs to sit back and accept the fact that a nine year old boy was shot," Serrano said.
But silence is protecting the person who walked up to the family gathering and fired.
Sadly, Davione remembers the entire series of events, until he faded into unconsciousness as emergency crews arrived.
"I was in the car asleep, after that i just heard three gunshots, after that, I was sleeping on this side, after that I jumped to this side and that's when the bullet hit me," he recounts.
Davione spent more than a month in the hospital, including Christmas.
Pictures and notes from his classmates helped keep his spirits up.
Davione's biggest struggles are from deep within. Anger over what he's had to endure. His mother is helping him overcome his frustration that no one has been caught.
"I hope they go to jail, and God punish them, that's it," he said.
"I'm trying to get him to think positive because this is a positive outcome, he's still here. That was my main focus. Now, I'm focused on them catching them," Erneisha McDowell, Davione's mother, said.
Davione is a different kid now. He doesn't like crowds and prefers to stay home. He also wants nothing to do with any toy guns, including squirt guns.
Detective Serrano understands why. Solving the case remains a top priority.
"I think there are people out there that have pieces of this puzzle whether it's a small piece or a large piece. Everything counts and I think there are people out there who know something about this case," Serrano said.
Healing can be in many forms. Davione wants peace, because no matter how strong his body becomes, those shattering moments are never far from his mind.
"A lot of times he don't even be thinking about it and he be like when they gonna catch them like, his mind is set on that," Erneisha McDowell said.
"When I talk about it I cry," Davione said.
