Teen with autism shot in Detroit breaks silence after shooter's case dismissed
Quote:
A teen with autism was shot in the back after getting lost in Detroit in April - then a month later charges were dropped against the armed man.
For the first time since the judge tossed the case we are hearing from Claude Woosck. He had been homeless this year, got shot in the back, and now his father just died. On top of it all, he already struggles with severe autism.
The backstory:
"I told the Uber driver this wasn’t my house, and they said this is your stop - you got to get out," Woosk said.
From there – 18-year-old Claude Woosck’s life changed forever.
"I went to call my sister to come pick me up because I didn’t know where I was at," he said.
This was back in April, on Detroit’s east side. Claude snapped a photo of a nearby house for reference and a man who was at the home, aggressively approached.
"He told me delete the picture," Claude said. "I did. He told me to walk. So I was walking off and waiting for my sister to pick me up and he shot me."
Right in the back. At one point doctors thought he’d be paralyzed - but he survived and is okay - physically.
"A little bit of chest pain, mainly that’s it," he said.
The suspect, 47-year-old Robert Pugh, was charged for the shooting – but the case was dismissed for lack of evidence.
When Claude took the stand he couldn’t remember details. Something his sister says is common with his severity of autism.
Violet Woosck is Claude's sister.
"Claude just wasn’t ready at all in my opinion, he wasn’t ready to go onto the stand," she said.
The judge wouldn’t allow his condition to be factored into questioning - which prosecutors argued was unfair.
The case can be tried again.
Now another blow, the same day as one of his final check-ups for his injuries, Claude’s dad dies of a heart attack.
"We used to go on bike rides together (around here) around here and on Belle Isle," Claude said.
He can’t quite verbalize how hard this has all been on him.
FOX 2: "How do you feel about all that?"
"Kind of overwhelmed," he said.
Go Fund Me - Support Violet in Giving Her Father a Dignified Farewell
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity.
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
05 Jun 2025, 7:22 pm
