A restaurant worker who was shot in the face last month for a missing order said that he thought he would die and never see his three-year-old son again.
Anthony Rodriguez, 26, was shot on Jan. 30 by 20-year-old twins Breanta and Bryanna Johnson.
Mr Rodriguez said he was the only server working around midnight at a George Webb location in Wauwatosa, when the twin sisters became angry over a $3 hamburger missing from their order, according to local outlet WISN-TV.
He said: “I do remember just laying on the ground and just bleeding out. I was in so much shock. I don’t really remember being in much pain, but I remember kind of internally freaking out and being very scared and just telling myself, ‘Wow, I’m probably gonna die here.'”
A criminal complaint filed by the Wauwatosa Police Department chronicling the incident details how the Johnson sisters, along with two other women, were ordering food from Rodriguez at the eatery when employees said the group started becoming “impatient and rude” while waiting for a food order.
The women then began arguing with Rodriguez and another unnamed staffer, unhappy that they were not getting their food quick enough, the complaint states.
When they became even more irate over a $3 hamburger that they said was missing from their order, Rodriguez and the other employee then asked them to leave.
At that point, one of the twins walked outside the establishment and returned with a pistol, the complaint continues.
Surveillance footage and interviews with witnesses and the suspects confirm that one of the sisters, Breanta, proceeded to punch Rodriguez in the face and wrestle him to the ground, detectives wrote.
The security footage then showed Breanta pass the handgun to her sister, who was still beating Rodriguez, police said. The woman, Bryanna, then attempted to pistol whip Rodriguez as he laid on the ground.
She then allegedly aimed and shot Rodriguez in the face, the complaint states.
When police arrived on the scene, they found Rodriguez in critical condition with ‘a gunshot wound to the right side of his face,’ per the complaint.
Rodriguez is recovering with injuries in his neck, tongue, and a fractured spine. A bullet is still lodged in a “precarious part of his throat” and his long-term prognosis is unknown, according to a fundraiser set up by his family.
Images of his mouth’s scans revealed the damage to his jawbone, and the bullet still lodged in his throat.
His survival has been termed a miracle.
Breanta and Bryanna Johnson were arrested four days after the incident and are facing attempted homicide charges, police said.
They each face a single count of attempted first-degree intentional homicide and face up to to 65 years in prison.
They are being held in jail on $100,000 bail, according to police records.
