Joseph Avellino is facing first-degree battery and three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor. (Cross County Sheriff's Office)
An Arkansas woman was hit in the face with a crossbow arrow Monday by a man whom she claimed was stealing her property, police said.
Janet Partain said she was confronting 34-year-old Joseph Avellino at his Wynne, Ark., home. An argument escalated and he allegedly fired a crossbow arrow at her 14-year-old son and 15-year nephews who were with her, she said. Partain was pierced in the face with the arrow after pushing the teens out of the line of fire, according to reports.
“I think I was in shock because once I got hit, I said, ‘I can’t believe you almost shot that kid,’” Partain told WREG-TV of Memphis, Tenn.
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When local authorities arrived at Avellino’s home around 6:20 p.m., Partain had already left for the hospital, with the arrow piercing the left side of her face and protruding out the back of her head, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
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Avellino was arrested on first-degree battery and three counts of endangering the welfare of a minor, according to a news release from the Cross County Sheriff’s Office. Online records indicate he was being held at Cross County Jail.
Doctors were reportedly able to remove the arrow from Partain’s face and she remained in the hospital through Tuesday to recover.
Capt. Jeff Nichols said it “was an odd sight to see someone with an arrow in their face and they’re still conscious and talking to me.”
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