GASTONIA, N.C. -- Police were investigating after a woman was shot in the neck by someone with a paintball gun in Gastonia.
It happened while she was driving along North New Hope Road Wednesday afternoon. Haley, the victim, agreed to talk to NBC Charlotte on the condition she only be identified by her first name for fear of her safety.
Haley said she was driving with her windows rolled down because the weather was nice.
"It literally felt like I got shot," she said. "I mean, the sound and everything. I thought this was it."
She went to CaroMont Health where doctors said the incident could have been much worse.
"The doctor was telling me that I would've not been so lucky if it hit me somewhere in my eye," she said. "(The doctor) just said I was lucky."
This year, paintball attacks have frequently made headlines in the Charlotte region.
CMPD investigated three paintball attacks just in the month of January, and just a few hours after Haley was shot, investigators said a 70-year-old Mecklenburg County park ranger was hurt after being hit by a paintball outside Reedy Creek Park.
No one has been charged yet in Haley's attack. She hoped anyone with information can come forward so she can feel safe again.
"I literally am scared to roll down my windows driving in the car," she said.
Anyone with a tip may call Gastonia Police at 704-866-6702 or Crime Stoppers of Gaston County at 704-861-8000.
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