SPU shooting victim: ‘I am healing and getting stronger’

The young woman seriously injured in last Thursday’s shooting at Seattle Pacific University says she’s healing, but has a long way to go in a statement released Tuesday.

SPU student Sarah Williams, 19, was critically injured when a gunman opened fire with a shotgun in Otto Miller Hall. She remains in satisfactory at Harborview Medical Center, where she was taken in critical condition with multiple gunshot wounds following the shooting. She underwent five hours of emergency surgery but has shown slow improvement each day.

The shooting left one student dead and another injured. The gunman was charged Tuesday with murder and attempted murder and could face life in prison if convicted.

Here is Sarah Williams’ complete statement:

I would like to thank everybody for the incredible outpouring of prayers and support that have been sent to my family and me since the events of last week. I know there is a lot of concern for my health and well being, so I’d like to take this opportunity to let everybody know that I am healing and getting stronger. The doctors and hospital staff at Harborview Medical Center have been fantastic and they are taking excellent care of my family and me.

While every day brings improvement, I have a long way to go for full recovery. During that time, I truly do wish that everyone please respect my privacy and that of my family. We are interested in only one thing: being together and getting through this.

My family and I send our love and prayers to the other victims and to Paul Lee’s family. Also, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to everyone here in Seattle, from the staff and my fellow students at Seattle Pacific University, to my roommates and friends, the police, to everyone here at Harborview and to the friends back home in Phoenix who are doing everything they can do to help me and my family. It means a great deal for me to know that there are so many wonderful people in this world who care, and I cannot thank you enough.