Katarina Rukavishnikova, the owner of Birds by Joe 2, was reportedly assisting Raymond Carey, a 53-year-old repeat customer when she looked up to see him leveling the crossbow at her before firing a bolt directly into her face according to The New York Post.
The Bergen County Prosecutor's Office said in a press release that the victim was remarkably able to disarm her attacker who then fled in a vehicle as she ran from the store to seek help at a neighboring business.
Responding police officers answering the 911 call found Rukavishnikova seriously wounded from the near point-blank crossbow shot and that the suspect had already fled. The victim was transported to an area hospital but was released and reportedly back at her shop on Tuesday.
Carey, however, did not evade law enforcement for long. According to the Post, he was tracked by Saddle Brook Police and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office with cooperation from the FBI and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office to the shore community of Pine Beach where he was apprehended just hours after Rukavishnikova had returned to work.
Speaking with reporters from NJ.com, the shop owner said she suspects that the shooting had nothing to do with the bold, broad daylight theft of the coveted bird saying, “He’s a repeat customer. He shot me without any warning.”JUST IN: Hasbrouck Heights man is accused of shooting a woman in the face with a crossbow in Saddle Brook, according to the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.https://t.co/nsgId5zTYm pic.twitter.com/MeqFhv9joq
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“He didn’t say anything. When I got close to him, I saw the crossbow. And he shot me in the face with an arrow.”
Carey is now facing charges of first-degree attempted murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree obstructing the administration of law. He awaits his first court appearance in Bergen County according to prosecutors.
