DATE: Saturday, November 22, 1997           TAG: 9711220365

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SUFFOLK                           LENGTH:   61 lines

GROGGY MOM DIAGNOSED WITH BULLET IN THE BRAIN POLICE SAY DAUGHTER SHOT PARENT IN HEAD AFTER DISAGREEMENT.

A 16-year-old girl, angry that her mother disapproved of her dating a 22-year-old man, put a gun to the woman's head as she slept early Friday, police said, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet tore into Elaine G. Morings' brain. Yet, instead of dying, the 42-year-old woman awoke and sat up on the living room couch.

Within moments, she was on the phone talking to a police dispatcher, her suddenly awakened husband and son nearby trying to figure out what had happened. Morings said she felt like she had been electrocuted - that there was a tingling sensation in her arms.

It wasn't until she reached a hospital that the truth was discovered.

Surgeons removed the bullet and Morings was reported in good condition Friday night, police said. Her daughter was in custody pending a court hearing Monday.

``It's kind of miraculous,'' said Mike Simpkins, a police spokesman. ``That she could talk on the phone and be coherent; that she could talk to us. She never lost consciousness in our presence. She's a very fortunate lady.''

The shooting at the Morings' home in the 2500 block of East Washington Street occurred at 3 a.m. Friday, Simpkins said. But the events leading to it had apparently been building for some time.

Investigators questioning the family learned that there had been ``a number of confrontations'' between the girl and her mother, Simpkins said. ``This has been going on for some time.''

The latest argument was about the daughter's boyfriend.

About 3 a.m. Friday, Morings was in the living room, having dozed off on the couch. Her husband and son were asleep in their rooms upstairs, Simpkins said.

The daughter went into the living room and allegedly held a small caliber handgun to her mother's head. Police said a pillow was used in an apparent effort to mute the sound.

``The gun went off,'' Simpkins said. ``Morings woke up and found a pillow over her face and felt tingling in her arms.''

Simpkins said officers who arrived with paramedics shortly after the shooting noted that the woman had a head wound that appeared similar to that caused by a gunshot. But the woman was alert, and no one in the home said anything about gunshots.

The father and son ``were sleeping when they heard something that woke them,'' Simpkins said, ``but they didn't know what it was.''

So Morings was taken to Louise Obici Memorial Hospital with what initially was believed to be a bump to her head, Simpkins said. Doctors soon discovered that she had been shot, however, and that the bullet had penetrated a half-inch into her brain, he said.

Morings was transferred to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Simpkins said, where she underwent surgery. Hospital officials said they could provide no information about Morings. However, Simpkins said, she was in good condition.

Police would not say where the girl got the gun that was used. But Simpkins emphasized there is no evidence that the teen-ager's boyfriend was involved in the incident.

After consulting with the commonwealth's attorney, police charged the girl with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a juvenile and use of a gun in commission of a felony. Her name was not released because of her age. KEYWORDS: SHOOTING ASSAULT JUVENILE

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