Family of shooting victim expresses sorrow, offers thanks

"You're going to be all right."

Trolley Square shooting victim Stacy Hanson told his brother from his bed in University Hospital's Intensive Care Unit that those were the best words he's ever heard, and they were spoken by a member of the emergency crew who responded Monday night.

Lying on the ground outside a card shop after being shot four times by a man with a shotgun, "he thought it was the end for him," Timothy R. Hanson said.

Stacy Hanson has been in critical condition since the shooting, with severe injuries to his pelvic area and lower back, where he was shot straight on. He was also shot in the shoulder and on his side, but those injuries pale in comparison, Timothy Hanson said.

"Stacy's injuries are extraordinarily serious," he said. "Hopefully none of them will be permanently disabling, and while there will be months of treatment and therapy ahead, we are hopeful that he will be able to return to full activity."

Doctors have plans to move Stacy Hanson — who is a creative art director for Salt Lake-based marketing firm Datamark — out of the ICU soon, and Timothy said his brother's recovery has been quickened by "positive energy" from a supportive community.

Timothy Hanson expressed concern for the other victims and their families in this tragedy and wished others who were injured a speedy recovery. He thanked the officers involved in the altercation with 18-year-old gunman Sulejman Talovic, and said "Their fast action no doubt gave the wounded a fighting chance — I know it did for my brother."

Stacy Hanson has been conscious through the whole ordeal and remembers very well the circumstances that night. However, family members are letting the details come out at will; they're not urging him to recall anything just yet, and Timothy Hanson is saving newspaper articles to perhaps fill in the holes later on.

Stacy Hanson, who is an avid outdoorsman and stands 6-feet 4-inches tall, owns a small sailboat with his wife, Colleen. Timothy said they've spent a lot of time out on the Great Salt Lake and have hiked all over Utah's mountains and spent a lot of time "playing" in Jackson Hole. Doctors have said the implications of Stacy's injuries are still unknown, but there are concerns he may never walk again or that there may be other permanent nerve damage.

"He has his ups and downs, but it's still early and he still hurts a lot," Timothy said. "He's got a lot of spirit, he's a tough guy and he's expressed no anger through this whole ordeal."