Jezebel: alexis goggins

Remember Alexis Goggins? The 7-year-old Detroit...

Jessica — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Remember Alexis Goggins? The 7-year-old Detroit girl who shielded her mom from several bullets? Well the guy who shot those bullets, her mom's estranged boyfriend, Calvin Tillie, was sentenced this morning to 25-60 years in prison. Alexis's Mom, Seliethia Parker, tells the Detroit News: "I was expecting him to get life for trying to take two lives…I would have thought he'd get no chance at parole, but we will have to live with it like everything else he did. He's a monster." Today Goggins is healthy and back in her second grade classroom. Mom Seliethia says, "She's doing fine, wonderful in fact. Better than I ever thought. She's the same wonderful little girl." [Detroit News]

Girl Who Took Bullets For Mom Is Making Progress

Jessica — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 09:30:00 EST

That cutie to the left is 7-year-old Detroit resident Alexis Goggins. You may remember Alexis from her heroism around the holiday season: During an armed assault on her mom Seliethia by an estranged boyfriend, Alexis jumped in front of the gun, and was shot six times. (Her mother was shot twice.) The good news is that the spunky schoolkid is officially on the mend: On February 7, following two months in the hospital and six surgeries, Alexis left the hospital. She returns twice a week for physical therapy to help with her hand-eye coordination, and will soon be fitted with an artificial eye (her right eye was hit by a bullet and destroyed).

Her mom, Seliethia, calls Alexis her "angel", telling reporters, "I'm thanking God every day that me and my baby are still here...It has taught me to ... appreciate the smaller things in life". The one stain on this otherwise uplifting story is the reaction of the police: According to the AP, because Alexis is developmentally disabled, police think "it may never be known whether Alexis meant to shield her mother from the bullets." It seems ridiculous to assume that just because she lags behind other kids her age, Alexis — who, as you'll remember, screamed "Don't hurt my mother!" during the assault — doesn't have the instinct to protect a loved one from danger.

Detroit's Wounded 'Hero' Girl Recovering [AP]
Earlier: 7-Year-Old Girl Protects Mom, Takes A Bullet

7-Year-Old Girl Protects Mom, Takes A Bullet

Jessica — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 14:20:00 EST

Dear Readers: You are made of stone and dead cockroaches if this story doesn't make you well up a bit. 7-year-old Detroit native Alexis Goggins is this holiday season's lil'est hero. Just as her mother, Seliethia Parker, was about to get shot by her estranged boyfriend, Alexis jumped in front and said, "Don't hurt my mother!" Unfortunately Alexis's pleas went unheard, and the shooter, Calvin Tillie, sent six bullets into the girl (One hit Alexis in her right eye, and two slugs also hit her mother.) Alexis, who had a stroke as a baby and also suffers from seizures, is still in critical condition at the Children's Hospital of Michigan. She's regained consciousness enough to squeeze her mother's hand, but lost her right eye and the rest of her face (she was also shot in the chin and jaw) is still swollen.

In Alexis's special-ed class, her teacher, Angela Lang, has put a stuffed animal dubbed "hero" in Alexis's chair. "We didn't want Alexis' spot to be vacant, so she's got a sweet bear to sit in her place until she comes back," Lang told the Associated Press. Want to help? Click here to give money to the Children's Hospital of Michigan in Goggins's name, or send cards or contributions via snail mail to:

Alexis Goggins Hero Fund
c/o Comerica Bank
Campbell Elementary School
2301 E. Alexandrine
Detroit, MI 48207
Girl who shielded mom is a hero to special ed class [CNN]