After being shot at his girlfriend's home in Benton County Tuesday, doctors feared 19-year-old Michael Austin Guzman may never walk again, but his family says he's improving. Benton County investigators say Guzman was shot after his girlfriend's father, George Reed, found them together in her bedroom alone after Reed told the couple not to see each other without a chaperone. Investigators say Reed hit Guzman several times in the face with a pool stick before firing his gun through his daughter's bedroom door. Sheriff's deputies say Guzman was trying to push a dresser up against the door to keep Reed out when the shots were fired. One of the bullets hit Guzman in the lower back, becoming lodged in his spinal cord. Guzman's brother Jeremy tells KNWA the bullet did not sever his spine. Jeremy says doctors performed an eight-hour surgery on his brother Wednesday to remove fragmented pieces of bone but were unable to remove the bullet. He says Guzman is now recovering in a Joplin hospital, coming in and out of consciousness. Initially, doctors feared Guzman would be paralyzed from the waist down, but Jeremy says they are now hoping Guzman will walk again after he began feeling tingling sensations in his lower body. As for the rest of the family, Jeremy says they are doing the best they can and continue to pray for a full recovery. We tried to contact the Reed family but no one answered when we called and other family members declined to comment.
