Teen shooting victim responds to doctor with thumbs-up

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – A simple squeeze of her mother’s hand was enough to alert doctors that a 14-year-old victim of the mass shootings in Kalamazoo had survived.

Initial reports were that Abigail Kopf had died after being shot once in the head, State police Lt. Dale Hinz said Monday.

Her parents told Hinz after the hand-squeezing, a doctor asked the girl a question, wanting a thumbs-up response.

Hinz says “she gave him two thumbs up” and “it’s a glimmer of hope in this otherwise tragic situation.”

The girl’s parents held a news conference Monday night along with a doctor from the hospital where she’s being treated. They say she remains on a ventilator in critical condition.

Authorities say Kopf was in a car outside a Kalamazoo-area restaurant when she was shot Saturday.