{"id":1500,"date":"2026-05-26T13:38:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1500"},"modified":"2026-05-26T13:38:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:38:03","slug":"nc-high-school-graduate-walks-across-the-stage-after-becoming-paralyzed-in-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1500","title":{"rendered":"NC high school graduate walks across the stage after becoming paralyzed in shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

GASTONIA, N.C. (WJZY) \u2014 A moment at a North Carolina high school graduation has inspired and uplifted a community.<\/p>

Read more \u2018Making everybody\u2019s crop\u2019: NC farmers happy to see rain relief<\/a><\/p>\n

When Kamryn Penny walked across the stage last week to receive his diploma from Stuart Cramer High School in Gaston County, the crowd and all the other students erupted in applause.<\/p>\n

Penny was shot in January and never expected to be able to take the stage on his feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, Penny says doctors told him repeatedly he had less than a one percent chance of ever walking again.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s why I stood there [on stage] for a minute and took it all in and smiled at everybody, to say thank you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old has a gratefulness well beyond his years.<\/p>\n

Penny says it comes from finding God after being shot.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou live your whole life having something, and you get it took from you, it\u2019s like, \u2018Damn, I wish I would\u2019ve thanked God every day for being able to have everything I have,\u2019 being grateful for everything that you have,\u201d Penny said.<\/p>\n

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Penny says he went to a Charlotte apartment complex in January to meet a girl he\u2019d been messaging, but he says it was a setup, and her boyfriend robbed him and shot him in the back and the leg.<\/p>

Read more South Carolina primaries could be delayed by GOP\u2019s push to pass new congressional map<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c[When] I first heard I was paralyzed, my first thing was, \u2018I\u2019m going to walk across the stage to graduate no matter what,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Months of difficult physical therapy led to the\u00a0moment he beat the odds.<\/p>\n

Kamryn\u2019s mom, Amanda Decker, wrote on Facebook, \u201cTonight wasn\u2019t just about a diploma\u2014it was about resilience, perseverance, and proving that anything is possible with faith and determination.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cGod is great,\u201d Penny said. \u201cGod is good. If you have God, faith and determination can take you a long way. God is real, and I\u2019m a proven miracle for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penny plans to go to college, get his barber\u2019s license, and continue speaking out for people with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Looking for more positive news in your day? Check out The Bright Side \u2600\ufe0f<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going through something worse than me, continue to push through because the storm doesn\u2019t last forever,\u201d he said.<\/p>

Read more NC doctor explains how pneumonia leads to sepsis after Kyle Busch\u2019s cause of death revealed<\/a><\/p>\n

Penny says two people were arrested in connection with the shooting.<\/p>\n

Queen City News has reached out to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police about the case.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Kamryn Penny walked across the stage last week to receive his diploma from Stuart Cramer High School, the crowd and all the other students erupted in applause.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1496,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nNC high school graduate walks across the stage after becoming paralyzed in shooting - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=1500\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NC high school graduate walks across the stage after becoming paralyzed in shooting - 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