West Liberty shooting victim has shotgun pellet in his heart

Logan Cole, the victim of shooting at West Liberty-Salem High School last week, has a shotgun pellet lodged in his heart that might require surgery, his father said.

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“The awesome news is that it is on the right side,” his father Ryan Cole said in a Facebook post Tuesday. “The right side is the low pressure side that feeds into the lungs. This means that it did not require immediate surgery and Logan is not in immediate risk.”

But the pellet can allow bacteria to grow, he said, and put the 16-year-old at risk of a heart infection.

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“The alternative to leaving the pellet in is to do open heart surgery and to remove the pellet,” he said. “This is typically a pretty safe surgery but there are risks associated with it. The risks to Logan may be higher due to the open wounds he has from the gunshots as well as the damage to the spinal cord.”

Logan Cole was initially taken to the intensive care unit in critical condition but has since been moved out of the ICU.

His family asked the community to pray for Logan Cole.

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“We would also ask you to pray for wisdom for the doctors as well as Logan, Julie, and myself with regard to the decision needing to be made about open heart surgery,” Ryan Cole said.

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