Shots Fired: Virginia Beach 9-year-old’s grueling recovery shows full impact of gun violence

Nine-year-old Landyn Davis will have a 40-caliber bullet in his brain for the rest of his life.

Six months after the Feb. 13 shooting that sent at least 26 rounds through the wall of his Virginia Beach townhouse, Landyn sat propped up on a couch still pocked with bullet holes and watched videos of himself posted last fall to his YouTube channel. His dad, Steven Davis, scooped a handful of popcorn into his son’s mouth as the boy in the videos windmilled his arms, tried dance moves and offered his pipe cleaner creations for sale.

The self-acknowledged baby of the family laughed and flashed his trademark smile that lights up brighter than the neon colors of his favorite video games.

But the emotion changed when the shooting came up. He described the feeling, with his mother’s permission for the language, as “pissed off.”

“I’m angry at the people who shoot,” he said haltingly, the words hard-won through months of physical therapy. “Don’t buy guns. Don’t sell guns.”

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