FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE) — 18-year-old Ceariaco Dixon was shot in the back last Christmas and is now paralyzed. He got caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting.

18-year-old Ceariaco Dixon plays catch in his front yard with his younger brother and cousin.

Playing and sitting in his wheelchair is not the way he is used to. He was a star football player at Edison High School, but he also played baseball and volunteered by keeping at-risk youth out of the gang lifestyle in Fresno. His main love, though, was Track and Field. 

“I did the 100 meter, 200 meter, and 4×1 relay first leg. I started off the team,” said Ceariaco Dixon. 

He was one of the top sprinters in the state and earned scholarships from all over. He accepted an offer to run for the prestigious Morehouse College in Georgia.

Sadly, his running career was taken away after he was caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. It happened at a Christmas Eve party last year in Sanger. 

“I was walking to my car because I was like it is crazy now and then I heard gunshots. I knew I was hit,” said Dixon. 

Dixon was shot in the back and the shoulder and spent three months in the hospital recovering. He still has no feeling below his chest. 

“It was traumatizing, it really is,” said Dixon. 

Coming back home he was inspired with the help from his mom. He works religiously on his rehab, slowly but surely he is getting stronger every day.

“I am not going to say I’m paralyzed. I’m unable right now, I’m getting there,” said Dixon. 

Now all of his trophies and medals filling his family’s home serving as a reminder of what he says he will be once again. 

“The body is going to get there. I’m coming back and I’ll keep this smile on my face,” said Dixon. 

In just a couple of weeks, Dixon and his family will be moving to Arizona so that he can join a program called Project Walk to help him rehabilitate. 

It costs about $15,000. If you would like to help his family, here is the link to his Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/ceariaco-dixon

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