Wisconsin Woman Who Survived Getting Shot In Head ‘Point Blank’ Testifies Against Her Accused Attacker In Court

A Wisconsin woman who got shot in the head at point-blank range lived to testify against her accused attacker.

Joseph Vandertie, 36, faces charges of attempted first-degree intentional homicide by use of a dangerous weapon, reckless injury by use of a dangerous weapon, and battery and disorderly conduct with domestic abuse assessments in connection to the July 23 incident, WBAY-TV reported.

“He looked me at my eyes and shot me point blank. What if I would’ve died? He shot me right at my temple,” the victim told the court at Vandertie’s bond hearing two days later. “Like it’s a miracle that I’m even alive right now.”

According to a criminal complaint, the victim’s boyfriend called 911 after Vandertie allegedly shot her in the hallway of a residence in Howard.

Emergency responders rushed the woman to an area hospital, where she was treated for her injuries.

Vandertie's wife was in a parked car at the scene and told law enforcement officers her husband was armed with a .22 caliber revolver, the complaint states.

Investigators learned the victim and her boyfriend received a phone call for help from Vandertie’s wife, who claimed her husband was acting erratically.

When the victim and her boyfriend went into the home to try to get the wife’s dog, Vandertie allegedly opened fire on the victim, legal documents show.

The victim was able to speak with investigators while hospitalized in intensive care, and she told them the wife, who she knew for around three or four months, said in the call that her husband seemed to be under the influence of “something worse than weed,” the complaint states.

“He didn’t even have to move the gun,” the victim told officers of turning into the hallway right before she was shot, according to the complaint. “It was evident that he was pointing it in the direction of anyone who was going to walk into the hallway. Joe fired the gun as soon as he saw me.”

Vandertie allegedly then grabbed a machete and chased the boyfriend from the home and then fled the scene, the complaint states.

The suspect was located around 30 minutes later and was booked into the Brown County jail after he was medically evaluated at an area hospital.

According to the complaint, Vandertie allegedly told investigators that he used cocaine and Percocet and that he began to feel like a caged animal because he believed people at his home were out to kill him, so he armed himself and shot at the first person he encountered.

“I have three daughters — 16, 13, and 11 years old,” the victim told the court at Vandertie’s bond hearing, noting her children “almost lost their mom … for going to help out my friend.”

The suspect's wife also testified at the hearing, telling the court: “This isn’t him. He’s never laid a hand on me in 13 years. We’ve been together since 2009. He’s never been violent with me, nothing. He’s been using guns since he could walk.”

Vandertie’s bond was set at $100,000 cash.