SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA / A news summary : The Local Review / DEVELOPMENTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Boy Shot at Jewish Center Heading Home
Benjamin Kadish, the little boy most seriously injured in last month’s shooting at the North Valley Jewish Community Center, is set to go home from the hospital today--and his friends with the Los Angeles city Fire Department say they intend to make it an event he won’t soon forget.
After an 11 a.m. press conference at Kaiser Permanente Hospital here, Benjamin, his parents and some of his playmates will ride home in grand style with firefighters on a truck from Engine Co. 72, under a police escort, said Los Angeles fire Capt. Steve Ruda.
“I can’t speak for the Kadish family but we thought that bringing him home on a fire truck would fulfill the little boy’s dream,” Ruda said. “We thought that would be appropriate for the family and for our firefighters who had to deal with this traumatic incident. It brings them closure to know he is safely home.”
The 5-year-old’s release caps a remarkable recovery from life-threatening injuries he sustained Aug. 10 after being shot in the back, thigh and abdomen.
Five people were wounded in the attack that authorities say was carried out by Buford O. Furrow Jr., who is accused of fatally shooting U.S. postal worker Joseph Ileto the same day. The other four victims have been released from hospitals.
An attorney for the Kadish family said Benjamin was looking forward to the fire truck ride “so much that it’s all he could talk about.”
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