DC teen dies after being shot 4 times in 4 years. His trauma surgeon says he’s not the only one

By Jess Arnold

Corey Riggins, Jr., 19, was shot and killed in November. Those weren’t his first bullet wounds.

WASHINGTON — Corey Riggins, Jr., 19, was shot on three separate occasions before a fourth shooting in D.C. killed him.

This last incident happened on Sunday, Nov. 27, in Southeast D.C., according to D.C. Police.

“I will miss him,” Riggins’ mom, Carla Lawson, said. He’s the third oldest of her four sons. She describes him as strong-minded, helpful, and a good person — always friendly with their neighbors in D.C.

She said he was first shot when he was 15 years old.

His trauma surgeon then, Dr. Babak Sarani, said that the bullet pierced his heart, liver, and stomach.

“He cardiac arrested on me three times, which is why I remember him,” Dr. Sarani said.

He serves as the Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at George Washington University Hospital.

Lawson said she was living in Ohio during that first shooting.

Dr. Sarani remembers Riggins’ father, Corey Riggins Sr., sleeping on the floor of his son’s hospital room — joining the doctor in his urges to accept help.

Read more: Newsbreak