Actor Christy Carlson Romano says she was shot in the face while shooting clay pigeons with her husband, showing off her bloodied eye in a new video.
In a clip posted to Instagram on Saturday, the former Disney Channel star explained that she and husband Brendan Rooney went shooting in Texas for his birthday, when someone in another party “unsafely fired in the wrong direction and shot me in the face.”
“So I got shot in the eye, it was not fun,” she began the video. I am safe.”
Romano showed what appeared to be a small gash underneath her eye with some bruising, explaining that “it’s still inside” her face. She showed other parts of her face that contained “fragments.”
In the caption, she said the fragment lodged behind her eye is “too risky” to surgically remove at this time, adding that she can currently “see normally.”
“I’m very grateful to first responders as a whole. I mean, they’re just the most amazing, superhero people to take care of us at our most desperate times,” she said.
Continuing to show her eye injury, Romano continued, “This is really bad tonight. Everything’s kind of clearing out, but I got to say I got shot in the face and lived to tell the tale.”
“Be grateful for every day,” she concluded in the video.
Romano thanked Rooney in the caption and said she was struck in five places, one being “less than an inch from hitting me directly in my right eye.”
“With everything that happened, all I can think about is how grateful I am to be alive,” she wrote. “I love my daughters, husband, family, and friends so much. I saw my life flash before my eyes and I’m telling you, hug the people around you every chance you can. Life can change in an instant.”
In a follow-up Instagram story post, Romano expressed her gratitude and warned people to “be safe” ahead of Super Bowl celebrations.
“I want to thank those of you who have been supportive. I’m feeling the love and I’m sending it back,” she began. “This has been scary and your positivity is meaningful to my healing.”
She continued, “Tomorrow is a big day of celebrations for everyone. Be safe while celebrating. And tell those close to you you love them for me.”
Rooney commented on his wife’s initial Instagram post, writing that she is the “bravest, toughest, most stoic and badass woman I have ever met.”
“I am so thankful you are alive. I am so thankful you are the mother to our children,” he continued, referencing their two kids. “I wouldn’t know what to do without you. I love you more than life itself.”
On his own Instagram, Rooney shared Romano’s clip to his story and wrote, “Kiss your loved ones.”
