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Youth detention officer has message for teens who seriously injured him in attack: ‘I forgive you all’
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Youth detention officer has message for teens who seriously injured him in attack: ‘I forgive you all’

(WFAA) – A young Texas detention officer was hospitalized after being severely beaten by teenagers who escaped from the facility where she worked.

Christy Galindo says she’s lucky to be alive.

“I have bruising to my eye, my teeth…I have staples to the back of my head and stitches to my eye,” she said.

She stopped three teenagers from escaping Lake Granbury Youth Services Sunday night and, in return, was severely beaten.

She said the teens ran toward the playground and she tried to stop them.

“I don’t fully remember everything, but I know I was hit in the head with the radio. I know I got hit in the head and trauma to the head, and I was completely out of control after that point,” Galindo said.

The teens, one of whom is in custody on murder charges, stole a car, guns and committed an armed robbery at a Dublin gas station, but were eventually found in Hutchins, Texas, at a compound of apartments after being spotted by the police.

Meanwhile, Galindo was airlifted to a Fort Worth hospital and was in intensive care until this interview.

And she has a selfless message for the teenagers who put her in this room.

“I thank everyone, the trauma team, the response team,” she said. “What happened to me hurt me, but they made a mistake. I forgive you all and I pray for you all.

“I hope that God fills the love in the areas that they lack and that they get the love that they need and that they succeed in the areas that they need to move forward,” Galindo said.

Altruism is the only way to describe this message.

Galindo is the mother of two teenagers. His family, like his father David, is also by his side.

“I take my hat off to him for his courage,” David Galindo said.

His family is also raising money to pay his hospital bills.

“They have me in my room. By the way, it’s a beautiful piece,” Christy Galindo said.

She hopes to leave the room by Christmas. This is the last place for someone with such a caring heart.

“At the end of the day, they’re still good kids,” she said.