Boy, 18, is left paralyzed from waist down after water pistol prank in Walmart parking lot erupted into real gunfire

A high school student has been left paralyzed from the waist down after a water gun fight escalated into a full-blown shooting in a Walmart parking lot.

Anakin Zehring and his friends were shooting a toy water gel blaster at two other teenagers at the Walmart Supercenter in Goddard, Kansas on May 11 when the situation took a turn for the worse.

One of the teens who caught Anakin and his friends with the water gun reportedly called a relative who allegedly shot the 18-year-old with a real gun while he sat in the driver’s seat of a blue car.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has since arrested 47-year-old Ruben Contreras in connection with the shooting and charged him with attempted first-degree murder.

The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office has since arrested Ruben Contreras, 47, (pictured) in connection with the shooting and charged him with attempted first-degree murder.

Anakin’s father Jeremy Zehring explained what happened at the scene: “I pulled his locator on his car and saw it was at the Goddard Walmart.

“So I started calling him and calling him. He kept going to voicemail.”

After hearing police reports that a shooting had taken place in the same parking lot, the distressed father frantically reached the area.

‘I tried to run to the car but they stopped me, they said it was an investigation. I thought: where is my son? And they look like Anakin. I said yes. Where is my son? And they say: he has been taken to the hospital,” he said KAKE.

The teen’s mother, Kenly, has since revealed that the bullet caused significant damage to Anakin’s body.

His duodenum (upper part of the small intestine) remained leaky and the spinal cord was damaged, causing loss of sensation from the waist down.

The teenager was a senior at Campus High School and planned to become an engineer after graduation

The teen’s mother, Kenly, has since revealed that the bullet caused significant damage to Anakin’s body, forcing doctors to fuse his L1, L2 and L3 spines.

To ensure Anakin survived, doctors were forced to fuse his L1, L2 and L3 spines.

“The other day he closed his eyes and said, ‘Mom, every time I close my eyes, I tell my legs to move for me, and they don’t move.’

“So it’s very difficult for him, very difficult; I mean, it’s sad that he has to go through this,” she said said.

After spending three weeks at St. Francis, Anakin has now been transferred to the Madonna Rehabilitation Facility in Omaha for his recovery.

“He’s nervous because he doesn’t really know where he stands, doesn’t really know what’s happening to him.

“So they’re trying to manage his pain,” Jeremy said.

Contreras allegedly shot Anakin while he was in the driver’s seat of a blue car

Although Anakin was unable to attend the graduation ceremony, his school counselor arranged for one at the hospital

According to the GoFundMe that Anakin’s parents launched, he will need extensive physical therapy, occupational therapy and skilled nursing care to recover.

Fundraising from now on page has raised $8,705 of its $50,000 goal

The teenager was a senior at Campus High School and planned to become an engineer after graduation.

Although Anakin was unable to attend the graduation ceremony, his school counselor arranged for one at the hospital.

“Haysville, they came to the hospital and graduated him there. Okay, that school means so much to me and my kids.

‘I met a lot of children there. And they deserve recognition for what they have done. Because they didn’t have to get there. They didn’t have to do that. And it made my son feel good. “I haven’t seen him smile in weeks until that happened,” Anakin’s tearful father said.

The suspect remains out on bail and a court date has not yet been set.