Mother of teen shooting victim offers reward
Janae Michaux said her son has been able to make a full recovery from the Nov. 11 incident.
The mother of a 16-year-old boy who was shot in the head last month in Monessen is offering a reward for anyone who has information on the incident.
Janae Michaux said she’s raised around $3,000 to reward anyone who has information regarding the incident. Michaux said that her son has had a full recovery since the shooting.
Michaux’s son was taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh after he was shot around 4:15 p.m. Nov. 11 on Rostraver Road.
“He’s a walking miracle; he’s an example of God’s divine favor,” Michaux said. “… He was shot, he had surgery, and he was woken up the very same night. We met a million doctors at the Children’s Hospital, and he’s doing really great.”
According to Michaux, her son was going to visit some friends and a cousin who had a newborn on the day of the incident.
Michaux said she’s gathered some evidence, like Ring camera footage of when the shooting took place and text messages relating to the incident. She presented some additional information to Monessen police, but no additional progress has been made in finding the shooter.
“The only thing that I’m being told is they are waiting for lab results from bullets and shell casings and stuff like that,” she said. “So as far as I know, it looks like he may get away with it if they don’t come to terms with his fingerprints being on a bullet.”
Michaux said the Ring camera footage initially shows a young man wearing all black walking up the street, with a ski mask-type covering on his face. Michaux said she heard about 10 shots go off in the footage, and the same individual is seen running down the street after the gunshots.
Michaux expressed frustration about the situation and asked anyone with information about the shooting to come forward to the police.
“If you know something, just please say it, because it could happen to anyone’s child, or it could happen to one of these children themselves, one of these other teenagers,” she said. “They can call their local police station or the Monessen police station. They can make an anonymous tip to the state police. They don’t even have to come directly to me.”
The Pennsylvania State Police tipline is 1-800-4PA-TIPS, and the Monessen Police Department can be reached at 724-684-4620.
Michaux said if it’s a younger individual who has information, she recommends they tell their parents so they could inform authorities.
“He’s a walking miracle; he’s an example of God’s divine favor. … He was shot, he had surgery, and he was woken up the very same night.”
JANAE MICHAUX
