An equestrian has spoken out about the traumatic moment she was shot twice in the chest in a shocking incident that made national headlines.
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Lauren Kanarek, 44, was shot in 2019 by Olympic horse trainer Michael Barisone, 62, at his farmhouse in Long Valley, New Jersey.
The shooting followed a dispute involving Kanarek and her fiancé, who had been living at the property.
Lauren Kanarek Recalls Life-Threatening Shooting by Olympic Trainer
Kanarek suffered a punctured lung and was left fighting for her life. Despite her injuries, she managed to call 911 herself in the immediate aftermath.
"When you're shot at point blank range, and bullets just go through you, you're still walking around. The damage is happening, but you're not feeling it happening," she told the New York Post.
"Your lungs are filling up with blood, they're getting ready to collapse. Your adrenaline is so high. You know you can't run because bullets run faster. You know you have to do anything you can in that moment to stop what's happening. That was the reality."
Police officers arrived quickly and treated her at the scene. However, Kanarek later flatlined twice in the ambulance while being rushed to hospital.
Barisone was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder, as well as two counts of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
He spent two-and-a-half years in jail awaiting trial and faced up to 60 years in prison if convicted.
Insanity Verdict and Aftermath of Shocking Case
In April 2022, Barisone was found not guilty by reason of insanity on one count of first-degree attempted murder and one count of second-degree weapon possession.
He was acquitted on the remaining charges.
"Barisone had claimed Kanarek and Goodwin breached a verbal agreement to leave the farm after they were finished with horse training," the New York Times' Jeanette Settembre wrote. "His trial attorney argued he was driven temporarily insane by alleged mental abuse toward him from Kanarek."
"Psychiatrists diagnosed Barisone with a delusional disorder and persistent depressive disorder which, his defense argued in court, fueled a mental break. He maintained he 'blacked out' and didn't remember the shooting at all."
Following the verdict, Barisone was committed to Anne Klein Forensic Center in Trenton before later being transferred to Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital.
He remained there until his release in November 2023.
Kanarek, meanwhile, was placed in a medically induced coma and underwent surgery to repair damage to her left lung.
"They tried to recast a villain as some victim and that's just not how it is," Kanarek added. "A man tried to kill two people. That's what happened. There's no other part of the story that matters besides that."
"This man is so dangerous — a villain. They're trying to make him into a sympathetic character. That's what the trailer [of the documentary] is doing."
Netflix's Untold: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill will be released on April 21, revisiting the disturbing case.
