Hoffman Estates family party shooting: Boy on path to 'miracle' recovery after shot in head

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Less than two months after he was shot in the head, Devin Newcombe is back home and his family says they expect the 16-year-old to make a full recovery.

"That ride home was emotional for both of us," his father Rondell Newcombe posted. "We just kept looking at each other smiling. No more needles, vital checks, stitches, staples, trache or hospital bed.

"He is home and doing well," Newcombe wrote.

Devin and a cousin, a minor, were alone in the basement of a relative’s home in Hoffman Estates on Jan. 5 during his 2-year-old cousin’s birthday party when a gun was fired, according to his family and police.

Devin was shot on the left side of his head. Doctors removed a portion of the boy’s skull while repairing damage from the bullet, the family says.

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Devin then spent three weeks in the intensive care unit, most of that time under sedation. That was followed by two weeks in the pediatric unit and another two weeks in rehabilitation.

He was discharged from rehab last Friday and will begin outpatient rehab on Tuesday. He is expected to make a full recovery, according to his mother Nina Newcombe, though the family does not know how long the outpatient rehab will take or when Devin will be able to return to school.

Devin Newcombe | GoFundMe

"He has recovered so quickly, like ICU staff, everybody has just been left with their mouths wide open like in awe at his recovery," Nina Newcombe said, calling his healing a miracle. He’s walking, he’s talking, he remembers everything.

"This whole time since he’s been awake again, he’s just smiling and the spirits are up," she added.

His father said Devin was so excited to be released from rehab that he "ran out of the building."

Devin is a "happy kid" who’s "always smiling" and making friends with people wherever he goes, his mother said. He played basketball, football and baseball before the shooting. He won’t play football again out of caution, but expects to eventually return to the basketball court.

"He’s got full mobility in his legs. His right arm is still a little bit weak, like he still can’t pick stuff up with that arm, but they’re saying he’s expected to have a full recovery," Nina Newcombe said.

Devin’s family, who lives in West Chicago, began a GoFundMe page to cover his medical bills and to help "him on his new journey and a second chance at life."