A 15-year-old girl who was shot when a gunman stormed an Oklahoma restaurant has posed for a thumbs up photo from her hospital bed as she recovers from her severe injuries.
Alex Speegle, 15, suffered two gunshot wounds that shattered her collarbone and severed nerves in her arm when the gunman opened fire at the Louie’s On The Lake restaurant in Oklahoma City on May 24.
The teenager had just entered the restaurant with her 12-year-old friend and her friend’s mother when the gunfire rang out.
Alex Speegle, 15, posed for a thumbs up photo from her hospital bed after she was shot when a gunman stormed an Oklahoma restaurant on May 24
Speegle’s friend Syniah Giles was shot in the stomach and the 12-year-old’s mother Natalie was treated after being grazed by bullets.
The 15-year-old told KFOR that she was standing so close to the gunman that she could see his eyes were blue but thought at first she was hearing firecrackers instead of gunshots.
‘I did not see him until we heard the firecrackers. I saw out of my vision concrete flying up,’ Speegle said.
‘I stood there and took a mental picture of him, and then I got shot and then I ran. I ran behind to the bushes and was screaming for help. Yelling, ‘God, why me? Help me’.’
The wounded girl was found by a young couple who were also running from the gunfire. A doctor who happened to be at the restaurant also stopped to help and started treating her in the bushes.
The 15-year-old suffered two gunshot wounds that shattered her collarbone and severed nerves in her arm
Alex will have to undergo further operations and extensive rehabilitation. She can barely wiggle her fingers after the muscles in her bicep were damaged
Speegle’s friend Syniah Giles, 12, was shot in the stomach and had to undergo surgery. She is pictured above recovering at home with her father
Alex, who has since been released from hospital following surgery, will have to undergo further operations and extensive rehabilitation.
She can barely wiggle her fingers after the muscles in her bicep were damaged.
Her friend Syniah is also at home recovering after undergoing surgery to her stomach.
The gunman, 28-year-old Alexander Tilghman, was shot dead by two armed bystanders outside the restaurant.
Investigators say Juan Carlos Nazario and Bryan Whittle each retrieved a firearm from their vehicles and then took down Tilghman.
Authorities said Tilghman was legally authorized to carry a firearm.
Oklahoma City Police Capt. Bo Mathews said the shooting appeared to be random but noted that Tilghman drove to the restaurant and wore protective gear for his ears and eyes.
Gunman Alexander Tilghman walked into Louie’s On The Lake restaurant at the dinner hour and opened fire before being shot dead by a handgun-carrying civilian in the parking lot
Alex Tilghman, who shot up a restaurant in Oklahoma City, made dozens of videos about seeing and hearing demons
Police and emergency personnel surround the scene of a shooting in Oklahoma City on May 24
‘It looked like his mind was made up that he was going to discharge his firearm once he got there,’ Mathews said.
He stressed that the investigation was ongoing and confirmed that Tilghman’s mental health was being looked into.
On a Facebook page that police said belonged to Tilghman, the man posts a video in which he claims his television is possessed by the devil. The page uses the same profile photo as a YouTube channel where a man that appears to be Tilghman also describes demons possessing his TV and being surrounded by computers.
He calmly begs for help from ‘a real human,’ saying he’s suicidal, lonely and ‘really losing it.’
The FBI says it was contacted about a YouTube channel associated with the gunman but determined no further action was needed.
GoFundMe pages have been set up for both Alex and Syniah to help with their medical costs.
Bryan Whittle (left) and Juan Carlos Nazario (right) confronted Tilghman when he left the restaurant. Nazario is reported to have fired the fatal shot