Mother forgives man headed to prison for shooting her 13-year-old son: ‘How are you able to sleep?’

A Birmingham man has officially entered a guilty plea for a 2024 shooting that left a 13-year-old Jefferson County boy critically wounded.

Legal proceedings

Mondricus Edmond Cooks, 37, was initially charged with five counts of attempted murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle. As the case prepared to move to trial on Monday before Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff Circuit Judge David Carpenter, Cooks pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and one count of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.

The plea agreement results in the dismissal of the remaining four attempted murder charges. Cooks received a 20-year sentence for each conviction, which will run concurrently.

A mother's perspective

The victim in the shooting is Corey Young, who was a student at Fultondale Elementary School at the time of the incident. Following the sentencing, Corey's mother, Shalanda Lawrence, expressed a complex mix of forgiveness and a desire for answers, telling 205focus.com, "How can it be explained that you shot a child? How are you able to sleep at night knowing you shot two people?"

Lawrence noted the personal nature of the violence, adding, "It’s a bittersweet moment. We’re able to get some type of closure, but it’s also crazy because you have been around my children. You wasn’t just a random person."

The night of the incident

The shooting occurred around 11 p.m. on Saturday, March 30, 2024, near the 500 block of B Y Williams Sr. Dr. in Midfield. The family had been enjoying a night out at Urban Air Trampoline and Adventure Park in Homewood and grabbing food when the violence interrupted their journey home.

Lawrence recalled the harrowing moments as they crossed the railroad tracks near Midfield High School. Cooks pulled up alongside the family vehicle and opened fire. Initially confused by the sound, Lawrence soon heard her son, Corey, scream that he had been hit. The boy collapsed between his parents as the family raced to Princeton Baptist Medical Center for emergency care.

Corey suffered a gunshot wound to the side, resulting in six broken ribs and internal damage to his liver and colon. After stabilization at Princeton, he was transported to Children’s of Alabama for a three-hour surgery. While he underwent a partial colon removal, he has since recovered from the severe injuries.

Lawrence, who cited a years-long feud with Cooks, expressed that the incident left a lasting impact on all five family members who were inside the vehicle. Looking toward the future, she said, "May God guide you to the right path as you go through this journey."