A New Jersey pet shop owner was shockingly shot in the face with a crossbow by a frequent customer of the store.
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“I don’t know what was going through his head, he just came in and shot me. Not a single word,” Katarina Rukavishnikova, co-owner of Birds by Joe 2, told NBC 4 about the Feb. 17 attack.
Raymond Carey, a Hasbrouck Heights resident, was arrested the next day and charged with attempted murder. According to Rukavishnikova, Carey was a regular customer at the store. He visited about twice a month and typically kept to himself.
“He’s very quiet, reserved, comes and gets his food and leaves,” she told the outlet.
Carey, 53, reportedly entered the store with a small crossbow concealed in a bag. According to Rukavishnikova, he muttered something under his breath before heading toward the back of the store.
“I walked up to him and said, ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said.’ And he pointed the crossbow and shot me, point blank,” she recalled. “His intent was to kill me, more than likely.”
The Victim of the Pet Shop Crossbow Shooting Managed to Snatch the Weapon from the Attacker
Security cameras from a nearby business recorded them running out of the shop after she managed to take the crossbow from him.
“I pulled the arrow out of my mouth and went running, screaming for help,” Rukavishnikova explained. “I don’t know if it was jammed or he was trying to reload it. Then I jumped in and took the crossbow, pulled the arrow out of my mouth. [Then I] went running screaming for help.”
Joe Reilly, who co-owns the pet shop, marveled at Rukavishnikova for rallying after getting shot in the face with a crossbow.
“I know men that couldn’t handle that and then fight the guy off and get out,” he gushed to NBC 4.
The shop owner shared with the outlet that she escaped with several broken teeth, both upper and lower. Some of which still require extraction. Despite the ordeal, Rukavishnikova returned to work the very next day. However, she admits to being gripped by a constant sense of fear. This lingering fear has led her and Reilly to seriously contemplate closing the shop.
“Constantly shaking, looking over my shoulder. Everywhere I go I’m looking around. He has taken peace of mind from me,” she admitted.
“It’s leaning toward us having to close here because I don’t know if I feel safe.”
Meanwhile, Cary has been arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, among other offenses. He is currently being held at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack, according to court records obtained by The New York Post.