Paralyzed Amazon driver says he forgives man who shot him over handicapped parking

The 21-year-old Amazon driver who was shot in the back over a handicapped parking space “will be injured permanently,” the prosecuting attorney said, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

“I’ll be paralyzed for the rest of my life,” delivery driver Jaylen Walker said, according to KSDK.

Despite that, he told TV reporters from his hospital bed in a St. Louis, Missouri, intensive care unit that he forgives the man who has been charged with shooting him.

Larry Thomlison, 65, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection to the Target parking lot shooting, FOX2 reported.

“I forgive that man,” Walker said, according to KSDK. “I just have to move on. Justice will be served. I don’t want to die with that on my heart.”

The two men got into a fight when Thomlison noticed that Walker was illegally parked in a handicapped spot while making a delivery, The Wichita Eagle previously reported. It turned physical when the 65-year-old used his cellphone to “document the illegal parking.”

“He kept putting the camera in my face, he rubs it in my face and I grabbed his phone, he was still holding on it, and we were both wrestling with the phone,” Walker said, according to KMOV.

Thomlinson punched Walker, KMOV reported, and they landed on the ground. Walker told police that while they were on the ground, he saw a gun in Thomlison’s waistband, the TV station reported.

The Amazon driver got up, backed away and turned around to run, FOX2 reported.

“He fell to the ground and I started to run and I looked back, and he was fumbling for a gun on his hip,” Walker said, according to KMOV. “Right when I turned the corner, I was shot.”

Charging documents say that Walker was shot in the back, the Post-Dispatch reported, and surveillance cameras recorded the shooting.

“I tried to run in between two cars. He had a nice aim and hit me right in the spine,” Walker said, according to KSDK.

St. Charles Prosecuting Attorney Timothy A. Lohmar told reporters at a news conference that there’s no reason to get shot in the back, the Post-Dispatch reported.

“You don’t point a gun at anyone unless you have intention of destroying them,” he said, according to the newspaper.

Lohmar said that Thomlison should know “when and when he’s not supposed to discharge a weapon,” KSDK reported. He did the citizens police academy twice and has a concealed carry permit, Lohmar said.

Walker is a father, and his family says it’s unlikely that he’ll ever be able to run around with his little boy, according to a GoFundMe account.

“I just thank God I’m still breathing, and I still have opportunities,” he told KSDK. “Just not the ones that I wanted.”

This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 2:10 PM.