Shot multiple times, Athens teen faces long road to recovery

By Joe Johnson

As 16-year-old Athens resident Lorenzo Titus Sanchez lay wounded in a hospital bed, his sister prays for his recovery while also looking ahead at the financial burden her family will face as Lorenzo fights back from being shot five times.

Bianca Rios and family members have constantly been at Lorenzo’s bedside in Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital ever since the teen was rushed there the night of March 3, when a coworker at the WNB Factory in Winder turned a gun on him for reasons that remain unknown.

Lorenzo has been in Grady’s intensive care unit, underwent surgery, and as of Friday was said by his sister to be in stable condition.

Lorenzo Sanchez in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial HospitalLorenzo Sanchez in the intensive care unit at Grady Memorial Hospital

The teen had attended Cedar Shoals High School in Athens before transferring to Foothills Charter High School.

“Lorenzo is the most kind, genuine, and hardworking young man out there,” Rios said for a GoFundMe campaign that she launched. “He is loved by so many in our community and it’s truly heartbreaking what all he is going through right now because of someone else’s disturbing actions. All he does is go to work, study hard, and spend time with his loved ones. He has a very long road to recovery ahead of him, but he has the love and support of so many good people surrounding him. Please keep Lorenzo in your prayers and thoughts at this time. He is a fighter and so, so strong. Our sweet boy is a miracle.”

Medical bills are a future challenge with which Lorenzo’s family will have to contend, but Rios already sees how unexpected tragedy is costing in the way of daily travel expenses to Atlanta and lost time at work.