Kimber Mills, Cleveland High School cheerleader to have her life machine turned off and organs donated after being shot after gunfire erupting at Albabama teen party. Steven Tyler Whitehead, who also injured four others to be charged with her murder.
The saddest goodbye…. A cheerleader who was shot in the ‘cross-fire’ while attending a teen party is set to have her organs donated today.
Kimber Mills, 18, of Cleveland in Alabama, was one of four people who were struck by bullets attending a party in a wooded area close to a highway near Palmerdale, Jefferson County on Saturday.
Cleveland cheerleader in Alabama an innocent victim of senseless gun violence
At the time Mills who had nothing to do with what led up to the shooting was struck in the head after gunfire erupting at the gathering, CBS42 reported.
Kimber was a senior cheerleader at Cleveland High School in Blount County, where she also ran track.
She was planning to attend the University of Alabama next year with a dream of becoming a nurse.
Despite efforts to save Mills, who is hooked up to a life support machine, there is nothing that can be done to bring her back her family said.
Mills according to her sister is to receive an ‘honor walk’ at 4 p.m, Tuesday. The life machine will then be turned off. A 5 p.m. surgery to donate her organs will then follow according to AL.com.
Shared Ashley Mills on Facebook, ‘Once they declare her brain dead, she will be an organ donor.’
Kimber’s family and friends will line the corridors of the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham to pay their respects as the teen’s body is then moved from the hospital to the organ center along an interior pathway.
They will watch as the 18-year old is wheeled into surgery so that her heart and lungs can be donated.
Kimber has been sedated heavily to make her comfortable.
Vigil held for Blount County cheerleader with hours left to live
Speaking at a vigil held Monday night, Ashley said: ‘We shouldn’t be burying our little sister.
‘It should be the other way around. It’s supposed to go from oldest to youngest not youngest first.’
Added the sibling, ‘She wanted to do things that I wanted to that I wasn’t able to, like be a nurse, help people and that’s exactly what she was trying to do that night… just help.’
Along with Kimber, two men, ages, 18 and 21 and a 20 year old woman were injured in Saturday’s shooting and are expected to survive their injuries. The extent of their injuries was not clear as the two men remain hospitalized.
Steven Tyler Whitehead, 27, in the aftermath has since been charged with murder, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office stated. He is to also face other charges in relation to the other four victims.
The sheriff’s office decried the ‘senseless’ gun violence that led to a loss of a young woman’s life.
Cleveland teen cheerleader makes ultimate sacrifice
The group were shot after a fight allegedly breaking out at the party they had been attending in the wooded area known as ‘The Pit’, where local teenagers gather to hang out and listen to music.
Kimber’s family says she did not know Whitehead.
Ashley told WBRC: ‘He was trying to hit on a girl there and give her things that she didn’t want,’ in an apparent reference to a spiked drink.
‘We hope he gets what he deserves,’ she added.
Stated family friend, Morgan Kaye Metz: ‘She is giving the greatest gift of all today. Life.
‘She was a blessing and now she gets to bless others.’
Prayer vigils for the teen were held Monday night at the Cleveland High School football field, and Monday morning at the school’s flagpole.
A GoFundMe page initially set up to raise cash for Kimber will reportedly be also used to help the other victims of the shooting.
