A man who opened fire outside a party in the Talmadge neighborhood and shot a 17-year-old bystander who ended up paralyzed was sentenced Thursday to 24 years in state prison. Juan Diaz Velazco, 21, pleaded guilty to charges of attempted murder and assault with a semiautomatic firearm causing paralys is for the October 2023 shooting. San Diego police said gunfire broke out just before 1 a.m. Oct. 28 amid a fight between two groups of people on Winona Avenue. According to the District Attorney’s Office, the shooting happened after “gang members issued gang challenges to rivals outside of a high school party. Diaz Velazco fired the first shots, which hit and paralyzed an innocent girl who was a high school cheerleader.” Prosecutors said the gunshots fired by Diaz Velazco, who was 19 years old at the time, struck Brianna Wallace in the back. Wallace, then a Lincoln High School student, was paralyzed from the waist down as a result. Wallace, her mother and aunt attended the sentencing hearing, after which she told reporters she felt Diaz Velazco didn’t truly understand the impact that the shooting had on her. “He really changed my life like never before. I can’t do certain things I used to do. I don’t go places I used to go anymore. I can’t be really adventurous,” she said. Wallace, now 19, said she’s now focused on school, dreams of becoming a pilot and physical therapy, with aims of re-learning how to walk. ...read more read less