Family looks for justice after father shot while breaking up fight at nephew’s gender reveal
By Gail Paschall-Brown
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ORANGE COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — “I don’t know what it’s like to wake up without him and I have for the last 8 days. I miss holding his hands,” Selene Colon told WESH 2 News.
Colon’s husband Joey, affectionately known as “Big Joe,” is recovering in the hospital after he was shot Sept. 5 on Valencia Palms Drive in Orange County.
Colon was at his brother’s house when a fight broke out during his nephew’s gender reveal party.
“A fight broke out and my husband went to stop the fight and then after, while he was stopping the fight, someone came out of a car and just shot into the crowd and my husband was hit,” Colon said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the gunman fired several rounds and fled in a car.
Colon’s son, an ICU nurse, saw his dad go down.
“He pulled him out and he started to compress the wounds, started telling everyone what to do,” Colon said.
The family drove the family patriarch to AdventHealth East Orlando.
“It’s the hardest thing in my life. I’ve been with him since I’m 15 years old, so 35 years we’ve been together and I don’t know life without him,” Colon said.
Joey Colon was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
“He’s an amazing, amazing father. Amazing husband brother, employee, everyone loves him,” Colon said.
She says her husband remains in critical condition with injuries to his kidney, pancreas and intestines.
“He’s struggling, he’s suffering. He’s in a lot of pain. He’s on a ventilator. He lost his spleen,” Colon said.
No arrests have been made and the family is just hoping for justice.
“If you know something, say something. Don’t hold back because this could be your family member, someone you love,” Colon said.
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