Dad-to-be shot while gardening may never walk again, Washington family says

Update: The Yakima Police Department arrested two men in connection with the shooting. The original story is below.

A soon-to-be father may never walk again after he was injured in a drive-by shooting in Washington, the man’s family said.

Jonathan Spear, 35, was working in his front yard garden when he was shot twice Sunday, according to a news release from the Yakima Police Department.

The shooting does not seem to be gang related, police said.

Officers arrived around 5:20 p.m. and found Spear lying on the sidewalk while a neighbor administered first-aid, police said. Witnesses at the scene said they saw a blue Ford Taurus speeding away after gun shots rang out, according to the release.

Spear was taken to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital before being flown with his pregnant wife to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for surgery, police and Spear’s family said.

One of the bullets severed Spear’s spine, breaking three vertebrae, his brother said in a Facebook post.

“It is doubtful he will ever walk again,” according to a GoFundMe page started by Spear’s family.

Spear is a “dedicated, core volunteer at Yakima Rotary Food Bank,” the group said on its Facebook page.

Spear also serves on the board of directors at La Casa Hogar, a nonprofit that “connects and educates Latino families” in the Yakima Valley, according to the organization’s website.

“More than money, we ask for your prayers for a miracle,” Caleb Spear wrote on the GoFundMe page. “Please pray that Jonathan would have a swift recovery and regain the capacity to live a full and productive life.”

This story was originally published June 8, 2021 at 1:17 PM.