A man who was shot in the face in Monday’s rash of robbery-shootings at 7-Eleven stores was able to leave the hospital on Wednesday. Vikki Vargas reports for the NBC 4 News at 5
A man who was shot in the mouth as he sat in his car at a La Habra 7-Eleven, a violent act in a series of robberies and shootings at 7-Eleven stores across SoCal, was heading home Wednesday.
Russell Browning, 60, said he knows he’ll have a long recovery. His family members say they are simply grateful he’s alive.
"He said to me, 'Honey, well if I die, you know where I'm going,'" Russel's wife Georgan said.
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He was shot through the mouth with the bullet exiting his cheek.
On Monday, July 11 -- or 7/11 -- Russel says he doesn't remember much. He had just picked up milk and doughnuts, and was heading to his job as a truck driver.
"The person ran up to my husband's passenger side, and for whatever reason, shot him," Georgan said.
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He was shot in the mouth as he sat in his car, with the bullet exiting his cheek, destroying most of his teeth. It was around 5 a.m.
Police said because the gunman was firing through a closed window that he didn't have a clear shot.
Georgan said she was told the window likely changed the direction of the bullet, striking through her husband's upper lip, and out through his cheek.
"It more than likely saved his life," she said. "We thank god that Russ is alive. But we're heartbroken for those who lost loved ones because they don't have someone coming home to them."
The crime is one of six robberies and shootings that morning that left two people dead, and three people injured.
Hours earlier, 46-year-old Jason Harrell had been shot at a Riverside 7-Eleven. His brother says he is breathing on his own, and he is no longer in a coma.
"He has to keep fighting. Jason is a fighter and so we we fully expect him to fight through his whole thing and win this battle," his brother David Makin said.
Police and federal officials are searching for the man believed to be tied to all six pre-dawn crimes all at 7-Eleven stores.
"It’s just a product of evil and sin in the world. It’s mind blowing," Makin said.
Harrell’s family says he is able to hear them. He even squeezed his brother’s hand as they spoke in the hospital.
"We won’t give in to fear or intimidation. Whatever is happening my brother is a fighter and he’s going to come through this," Makin said
In La Habra, the Brownings are preparing for a homecoming -- well aware that whoever shot Russell has not been captured.
"We've been through a lot the last couple years. And we're hurting. And he's hurting. I’m trying to have mercy for the person who did this...I’m trying to get there. I don’t want anybody to go through this," Georgan said.
7-Eleven announced it was offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the suspect.
Both families say they hope he’s captured or turns himself in.
