Mother Of Teen Shot On Way To Church Speaks Out About Crime

BOSTON (CBS) - The 13-year-old shot while he walked to choir practice in Roxbury is recovering at Boston Medical Center.

On Tuesday, his mother said she wants to know who shot her son but she also wants to forgive them.

Gabriel Clarke, a junior deacon at 7th Day Adventist Church on Seaver Street, underwent surgery overnight at Boston Medical Center on Friday.

"He's hurting, and scared, and doesn't know why this happened," says Shirley Clarke.

"He's a trooper," BMC Dr. Andrew Glantz, "and he's up walking around, even though he' s still in some pain."

Doctors say Clarke was shot once in the stomach and the bullet traveled into his intestines and lodged in a muscle of his lower back.

Clarke was on his way to meet his mother at church last Friday when he was shot on Humboldt Avenue in Roxbury.

His mother does not want vengeance.

"I want them to turn themselves in, so I can talk to him. I will pray for them. I love them, " says Shirley Clarke.