Heartbreaking news from Alabama: 18-year-old Kimber Mills, a beloved Cleveland High School cheerleader and track athlete, is set to have her life support machine turned off and her organs donated following a tragic shooting at a teen party in Jefferson County.
According to authorities, the incident occurred late Saturday night near Palmerdale, where gunfire erupted during a gathering in a wooded area known as “The Pit.” Mills — who had no involvement in the altercation — was struck in the head by a stray bullet.
Despite being rushed to University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, doctors confirmed there was nothing further they could do. Her family announced that she will be given an “honor walk” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, followed by the withdrawal of life support and organ donation surgery at 5 p.m.
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A vigil held Monday night at the Cleveland High School football field drew hundreds of mourners. Through tears, Ashley said, “We shouldn’t be burying our little sister… She wanted to help people — and that’s exactly what she’s doing, even now.”
Mills, who had dreams of becoming a nurse and attending the University of Alabama, was remembered by teachers and classmates as “kind, driven, and full of light.”
Authorities identified Steven Tyler Whitehead, 27, as the suspected shooter. He has been charged with murder and additional offenses related to the four other victims injured in the gunfire — two young men (18 and 21) and a 20-year-old woman, all of whom are expected to survive.
Family friend Morgan Kaye Metz called Kimber’s decision to donate her organs “the greatest gift of all — life.”
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office condemned the shooting as “senseless violence that claimed the life of a young woman with so much promise.”
A GoFundMe campaign originally set up to support Kimber’s recovery will now assist her family and the other shooting victims.
