BALTIMORE – Damion Cooper had his headphones on as he left the number five bus to walk to his mother’s house for dinner after wrestling practice at Coppin State University. But just steps from her home, he felt a presence behind him.
He turned and saw two men. One raised a gun. Then it felt like a sledgehammer was repeatedly hitting him just above the heart.
Damion Cooper pictured in 1992, the year he was shot while walking to his mother’s house for dinner. (Courtesy Damion Cooper)
He called it Project Pneuma, after the Greek word for “breath.”
The program uses activities like yoga and fitness competitions with Baltimore police trainees to bolster boys’ mental health and prevent them from joining violent gangs.
“It’s personal to me because I believe God breathed new life into me when I got shot,” he said. “And it’s our job to breathe new life into these young boys who don’t often see another day.”
Hannah Ray Lambert is an associate producer/writer with Fox News Digital Originals.
Leave a Reply