Connor Stevenson was just 13 years old when he was caught in the crossfire of a deadly shooting. He didn't know it, but while he was buying lunch inside the food court at Toronto鈥檚 Eaton Centre, he was just steps from the gunman and moments later, he was shot in the head.
He survived four surgeries and over 1,000 stitches. Now, two-and-a-half years after the shooting, there are still lasting effects.
鈥淗e still has bullet shards in his head and they could shift or his body could react to those in any way in the future,鈥� said Taylor Stevenson, Connor鈥檚 17-year-old sister. "I want to make sure that he鈥檚 safe and he doesn鈥檛 get hurt again鈥�.
Connor鈥檚 mom, Jo-Anne Finney shares that concern for her son.
鈥淓very day I worry about, you know, is Connor going to hit his head? If he hits his head you know it could be fatal.鈥�
Another lasting effect: the way they see the world around them.
鈥淓very day when I'm out I think, does the guy next to me have a loaded gun? The simplest things in life are now all looked at differently鈥� said Jo-Anne.
鈥淭hat gunshot was the start of the snowball effect. And that was all the surgeries, all the pain and suffering that came along with that鈥�, said Connor鈥檚 dad Craig. 鈥淲e've been impacted by that day for life.鈥�
They call it their life sentence.
The gunman is also now serving life. Christopher Husbands killed two people and wounded five others when he opened fire in the crowded mall. He was convicted on two counts of second-degree murder and five counts of aggravated assault.
Post-trial outlook
Following the trial, W5 sat down with the Stevenson family as they try to now put this behind them. Surveillance video of the shooting was made public during the nine-week trial, but as witnesses in the court鈥檚 case, Connor鈥檚 family hadn't seen it until they watched it with W5's cameras rolling.
Jo-Anne found the video chilling. 鈥淲hen I look at the video and I see how close we were standing next to him, you know his gun was right here. How did I not know?鈥� said Jo-Anne. 鈥淚t causes me to think you know, how many other times are you in a situation that you just dodge?鈥�
Connor was a ski racer before the shooting and had to give that up because of the risk of skiing at such high speeds. "There鈥檚 certainly things that I would go and be like oh I guess I can鈥檛 do that because that鈥檇 be pretty dangerous,鈥� he said.
"I try not to be overly cautious."
Remarkably, Connor has continued to do what he loves by becoming a ski instructor.
"I think Connor's proof that you really can overcome huge obstacles that happen" said Taylor.
Jo-Anne certainly agrees: "I do really think Connor鈥檚 a superhero. I鈥檓 kind of in awe of the kids really."
As for Craig, he鈥檚 thankful to both Connor and Taylor. "I think they鈥檝e really provided us that stability, that strength, to help get through this. It鈥檚 been very difficult but you know, their strength has really helped us get through it."
