Richardson Teen Critically Injured in Waffle House Parking Lot Shooting

Seth Jackson had two jobs, a spot on his high school basketball team, and an apartment already rented near the University of Houston for the fall. Then, just after midnight on March 19, a fight outside a Waffle House on Spring Valley Road put him in the ICU, permanently paralyzed from the waist down.

Richardson Police responded to reports of a shooting at 120 W. Spring Valley Road at around 12:40 a.m. Several witnesses had called 911 to report a large fight erupting in the Waffle House parking lot, followed by gunfire. The group scattered before officers arrived.

James Jackson, Seth's father, says his son is permanently paralyzed from the waist down as a result of the shooting, and that Seth remains in the ICU with a ruptured lung, fractured ribs, and a shattered spinal cord.

James Jackson says his son became involved in the fight after he saw one of his friends getting attacked, and that in videos of the shooting Seth does not appear to be anywhere near the shooter. "He saw five guys jump on his friend, so out of knee-jerk reaction he kind of headed over there," James said. "So he just headed over there and never made it within 10-15 feet."

James says his son worked two jobs and played on the Richardson High School basketball team, and that Seth had been accepted to the University of Houston with an apartment already rented for the fall semester.

Police have not said who fired the gun or why the fight started. The shooting remains under investigation, with no arrests announced. Richardson Police are still looking for the shooter, while Jackson's family is asking for help in his recovery.