Rubber bullet sends teen to jaw surgery

The Sacramento teen who is recovering after law enforcement shot him in the face with a rubber bullet during downtown protests over the killing of George Floyd underwent jaw surgery on Friday.

Dayshawn McHolder, 18, was participating in the march as it stopped outside Sacramento County Jail on I Street when he was stuck in the face.

McHolder underwent a medical procedure to close the wound Saturday night after the protest, and needed an additional surgery to fix his broken jaw. McHolder will be unable to eat solid food for six weeks, family members said.

“You can actually stick your finger in the hole in his cheek,” Devon Jones, McHolder’s cousin, told The Sacramento Bee on Sunday.

Jones confirmed the teen went into surgery on Friday to repair his jaw and as of 4:30 p.m. has not been released from the hospital.

Video obtained by The Sacramento Bee showed McHolder threw something small in the direction of officers. Officers shot in his direction, and he immediately fell to the ground.

McHolder was surrounded instantly by more than a dozen protesters. He was then picked up by a marcher who moved him away from the crowd and into the street.

McHolder received a quarter-sized gash on his left cheek and a broken jaw, a family member said.

Sgt. Tess Deterding with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that an individual was sent to a hospital where he was being treated and cited for assault on officers.