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Arkansas Man Allegedly Shoots Woman In The Face With Crossbow As She Protects Her Son, Nephew
Janet Partain says she was confronting the suspect, Joseph Avellino, about stolen property when things escalated.
A man in Arkansas allegedly shot a woman in the face with a crossbow as she was trying to protect her son and nephew.
The victim, Janet Partain, was able to drive herself to a hospital despite having an arrow penetrating her face and poking out of the back of her head, according to local CBS affiliate News Channel 3.
“It was an odd sight to see someone with an arrow in their face and they’re still conscious and talking to me,” Cross County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jeff Nichols told the station on Wednesday.
News Channel 3 caught up with Partain while she was recovering in the hospital following the incident. She said she had gone to 34-year-old Joseph Avellino’s house to confront him about stolen items.
"I told him, 'Joseph I don't want you on my property no more,' this and that. And he was like, 'Well I'm going to shoot ya'll,'" Partain told News Channel 3.
She said she was shot as she guarded her teen son and nephew from the crossbow-wielding Avellino.
"[He] was pointing the arrow at them and he fired a shot at one of them, and I pushed them out the way and I got hit," she said. "I think I was in shock because once I got hit I said, 'I can't believe you almost shot that kid.'"
Partain said her face was “throbbing” and that she was unable to shut one of her eyes less than a day after the incident.
Avellino, of Wynne, Arkansas, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with first-degree battery and three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, according to the CCSO. He was released on bond the following day.
