As a turkey hunter for the last 24 years, Washington County sheriff's commander Jerry Cusick never thought for a moment he would go from hunter to the hunted while walking the woods of western Wisconsin on Tuesday. In mere seconds he had approximately 50 BBs from a shotgun sprayed into his face, chest and arms, taking out a front tooth and lodging one pellet behind his eye. Mr Cusick, 53, collapsed to the ground covered in blood and cried out to whoever was upon him, but says he heard no reply back. Jerry Cusick was shot in his face, chest and arms while walking a private wooded path on Tuesday . Cusick, 53, said it was a miracle he was able to drive himself to safety and can see out of both eyes . Cusick is covered in bruises and wounds from where a shotgun sprayed him approximately 50 times by accused hunter Anthony Cardarelli, 27 . 'It spun me around, knocked my hat off,' he told the Mohr Pioneer Press on Wednesday. 'I ducked down and saw blood was streaming down. I screamed, "You shot me! You shot me!" 'I would liken it to somebody hitting you upside the head with a baseball bat, and you didn't expect it was coming,' he said. Mr Cusick, who has served 28-years with the sheriff's office and also teaches classes on turkey hunting safety, was scouting private land in St. Croix County for an upcoming turkey hunt when hit. He says he doesn't know the shooter, identified as 27-year-old Anthony Cardarelli of White Bear Lake, and isn't sure whether the man was trespassing on the land or firing from off the property. All that confusion is what led him to immediately fear for his life. 'I thought, "I'm not going to die here. ...I'm getting out of here,'" he recalled. Mr Cusick got up from the path he was walking on and drove himself to a nearby farm before he was transported to Regions Hospital in St Paul. Miracle survival: Wisconsin sheriff's commander Jerry Cusick, 53, seen on a recent turkey hunting trip to Nebraska received a spray of pellets, also called BBs, across his face, arms and chest . 'There is no information at this point that Cardarelli intended to shoot a person,' St. Croix County Sheriff John Shilts told CBS WCCO. 'However, I have great concern over the fact that Cardarelli did not properly identify his intended target prior to shooting.' The firearm used was originally misreported as a BB gun with the shotgun's pellets commonly referred as both. An investigation is currently underway into the incident which is believed to have been an accident. Mr Cardarelli is said to be an experienced turkey hunter according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. ‘In talking with him, he has been an avid turkey hunter for years,’ Dave Hausman, a warden supervisor with the department told the Pioneer Press. He’s also being credited for immediately calling 911 after Mr Cusick was injured. Yet his handling of the situation after the fact doesn’t help earn Mr Cusick’s forgiveness for what happened in the moments immediately before. Investigation: Mr Cusick, seen here in 2007, says he was scouting private land for an upcoming turkey hunt when he was aggressively shot on a wooded path . Weapon: The firearm used was a shotgun, a typical one shown, which in a single shot sent the spray of pellets into Mr Cusick as he walked along a path . 'I'm very disappointed in people, especially this shooter,' Mr Cusick said. 'I mean, how could you? ... The fact is, he made a very, very poor choice. It was an unconscionable choice to shoot without identifying what he was shooting at.' Mr Cusick has since been discharged from the hospital badly scarred while still requiring surgery for that one pellet still lodged behind his eye. He calls it a 'miracle' that he not only walked away with his life from can still see out of both eyes. Still, 'I'm going to have to live with 50 pellet scars all over my face and body,' he said. Those injuries and the ordinarily haunting experience won't stop him from hunting turkeys, however, with Mr Cusick’s hunting season permit having started on Wednesday. On Monday he says he also plans to return to work at the sheriff’s department. 'Obviously, I can't go out and fight with anybody, but I can do my administrative work,’ he said. Discharged: Mr Cusick has since been discharged from the hospital while still requiring surgery for one pellet still lodged behind his eye but planning to return to work soon and continue hunting .
Wisconsin sheriff's commander Jerry Cusick was shot in his face, chest and arms while walking a private wooded path on Tuesday .
Cusick calls it a miracle he was able to drive himself to safety and can see out of both eyes .
Hunter Anthony Cardarelli, 27, believed to have mistaken Cusick for a turkey .
As a turkey hunter for the last 24 years, Washington County sheriff's commander Jerry Cusick never thought for a moment he would go from hunter to the hunted while walking the woods of western Wisconsin on Tuesday. In mere seconds he had approximately 50 BBs from a shotgun sprayed into his face, chest and arms, taking out a front tooth and lodging one pellet behind his eye. Mr Cusick, 53, collapsed to the ground covered in blood and cried out to whoever was upon him, but says he heard no reply back. Jerry Cusick was shot in his face, chest and arms while walking a private wooded path on Tuesday . Cusick, 53, said it was a miracle he was able to drive himself to safety and can see out of both eyes . Cusick is covered in bruises and wounds from where a shotgun sprayed him approximately 50 times by accused hunter Anthony Cardarelli, 27 . 'It spun me around, knocked my hat off,' he told the Mohr Pioneer Press on Wednesday. 'I ducked down and saw blood was streaming down. I screamed, "You shot me! You shot me!" 'I would liken it to somebody hitting you upside the head with a baseball bat, and you didn't expect it was coming,' he said. Mr Cusick, who has served 28-years with the sheriff's office and also teaches classes on turkey hunting safety, was scouting private land in St. Croix County for an upcoming turkey hunt when hit. He says he doesn't know the shooter, identified as 27-year-old Anthony Cardarelli of White Bear Lake, and isn't sure whether the man was trespassing on the land or firing from off the property. All that confusion is what led him to immediately fear for his life. 'I thought, "I'm not going to die here. ...I'm getting out of here,'" he recalled. Mr Cusick got up from the path he was walking on and drove himself to a nearby farm before he was transported to Regions Hospital in St Paul. Miracle survival: Wisconsin sheriff's commander Jerry Cusick, 53, seen on a recent turkey hunting trip to Nebraska received a spray of pellets, also called BBs, across his face, arms and chest . 'There is no information at this point that Cardarelli intended to shoot a person,' St. Croix County Sheriff John Shilts told CBS WCCO. 'However, I have great concern over the fact that Cardarelli did not properly identify his intended target prior to shooting.' The firearm used was originally misreported as a BB gun with the shotgun's pellets commonly referred as both. An investigation is currently underway into the incident which is believed to have been an accident. Mr Cardarelli is said to be an experienced turkey hunter according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. ‘In talking with him, he has been an avid turkey hunter for years,’ Dave Hausman, a warden supervisor with the department told the Pioneer Press. He’s also being credited for immediately calling 911 after Mr Cusick was injured. Yet his handling of the situation after the fact doesn’t help earn Mr Cusick’s forgiveness for what happened in the moments immediately before. Investigation: Mr Cusick, seen here in 2007, says he was scouting private land for an upcoming turkey hunt when he was aggressively shot on a wooded path . Weapon: The firearm used was a shotgun, a typical one shown, which in a single shot sent the spray of pellets into Mr Cusick as he walked along a path . 'I'm very disappointed in people, especially this shooter,' Mr Cusick said. 'I mean, how could you? ... The fact is, he made a very, very poor choice. It was an unconscionable choice to shoot without identifying what he was shooting at.' Mr Cusick has since been discharged from the hospital badly scarred while still requiring surgery for that one pellet still lodged behind his eye. He calls it a 'miracle' that he not only walked away with his life from can still see out of both eyes. Still, 'I'm going to have to live with 50 pellet scars all over my face and body,' he said. Those injuries and the ordinarily haunting experience won't stop him from hunting turkeys, however, with Mr Cusick’s hunting season permit having started on Wednesday. On Monday he says he also plans to return to work at the sheriff’s department. 'Obviously, I can't go out and fight with anybody, but I can do my administrative work,’ he said. Discharged: Mr Cusick has since been discharged from the hospital while still requiring surgery for one pellet still lodged behind his eye but planning to return to work soon and continue hunting .
Washington County sheriff's commander Jerry Cusick was shot in his face, chest and arms while walking a private wooded path on Tuesday . Cusick, 53, said it was a miracle he was able to drive himself to safety and can see out of both times by accused hunter Anthony Cardarelli, 27 .