UF basketball star recovering after shooting

COLUMBUS —In the early morning hours of June 23, a mass shooting occurred along High Street in the Short North district of Columbus, injuring 10 men and boys of various ages. The victims ranged in age from 16 to 27, the Columbus Dispatch reported. All of them survived, but it doesn't mean a long road to recovery isn't ahead for some of them. Nathan Bruns, a former five-year starter for The University of Findlay basketball team, happened to be one of those 10. "Everything did happen super fast, but I didn't actually see the gunshots, just heard them, so I didn't know I got shot until my leg gave out a couple of seconds later," Bruns said in an interview with The Courier. "Then I saw my shoulder was bleeding and then it hit me that I had been shot." Bruns said he and the people around him were in complete shock at the event that was unfolding in front of them. "I think I was in so much shock that not much was really going through my head except to get help. The people around me were definitely shocked, too, because things like this don't usually happen," he said. The confusion and shock of the evening's events were intense, Bruns said, but the former basketball star found a great deal of support after the incident. He said he was immediately showered with love on social media and through personal messages when they found out he was one of the shooting victims. "I received a bunch of love and support and prayers from so many people and I can't thank everyone enough for it all," he said. "The love and prayers were definitely felt." Surviving a mass shooting really makes you think twice about everything, Bruns said. "An event like this definitely gives me a new perspective on things. I am definitely way more thankful to just be alive and realizing just how precious life really is." Now in the midst of the healing process, Bruns said he is expected to make a full recovery, but it could be a long road. "The recovery process is definitely going to take some time. I've been making progress each day though and can tell my mobility is getting little better day by day," he said. Beyond recovery, Bruns said he doesn't plan to pursue a career in basketball, but would rather give back and help the younger generation in becoming better at the craft. "As far as basketball, I was never really going to pursue a career professionally, but still want to pursue a coaching career at some point in my life." Columbus police have not identified any suspects in the shooting, though a driver who fled from the scene in a car has been charged with obstructing official business, the Dispatch reported.