Woman recalls terrifying day estranged husband shot her seven times over divorce request

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT: Tina Davis, 58, was shot in the chest, head, left forearm, left thumb, left shoulder and right hip. She continues to undergo therapy to regain mobility and function

A woman has remarkably survived being shot seven times by her estranged husband after she asked for a divorce.

Ronald Richard Goss, now 64, and Tina Davis, from Ball Ground, Georgia, who had been married for nearly ten years, were separated when he visited her home on February 11, attempting to reconcile their marriage. After Davis insisted on a divorce, Goss returned the next morning. According to reports, Goss disabled the power to her house, entered the garage, and then broke into the home by shooting at the door. Goss had also doused Davis' car with petrol.

Goss shot Tina in the chest, head, left forearm, left thumb, left shoulder and right hip. She continues to undergo therapy to regain mobility and function.

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Tina still remembers vividly remembers the February 12 morning in 2018 when her estranged husband attacked. Tina recalled: "It was five in the morning, and I was going down to my car. I turned my head, and he was right there. Before I could react, he started shooting. I heard the first gunshot, and I hit the ground. He kept firing. I remember thinking, I need to try to get away.

"So I turned away from him. I was going to try to go; I remember thinking if I can get into the closet, I can go out the window to escape, but obviously, I'd been shot five times I remember thinking, 'you have got to be kidding me'."

Barely clinging onto life, Davis recoiled in a pool of her own blood. She said: "I went down and was lying face down, and he came over and shot me again," she said. "He was standing at an angle, and the bullet hit my left hip. It travelled up, hitting one half of my L3 and L4 vertebrae, shattering those bones. The bullet ricocheted up through my torso, razing my liver, kidney, spleen, and pancreas, and hitting two ribs."

The bullet remains lodged in her rib cage, though it didn’t pierce any vital organs. Remarkably, Davis survived the attack even after a seventh shot. She said: "He realised I still wasn’t dead, so he came over to shoot me in the head. But because he had cut the power, it was dark, and one of the bullets ricocheted off the towel [rail] and hit his right eye, so he couldn’t see well.

"When he went to shoot me in the head, he missed, but the bullet hit the towel [rail] right beside my head and then went in through my jawline. It entered the small space between my gum and my cheek, grazed the enamel off my bottom cap, and hit the top two caps on my teeth. The bullet then changed trajectory, splitting the roof of my mouth completely in two.

"It travelled into the sinus cavity on the right side of my face, shaved the orbital bone, and finally lodged itself crossways. That bullet was directed by the hand of God because if you're looking at my face now, you would never know that anything, all that internal damage was there. I tell everybody that bullet was directed by the hand of God,” she added. “It’s miraculous.”

Goss, who lost his right eye during the ordeal, was the one to call 911. “He told them he had shot his wife and accidentally shot himself,” she explained.

He was sentenced to 65 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges including attempted murder, home invasion, attempted arson, nine counts of aggravated battery with family violence, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Now, Davis, a retired payment processor for State Farm insurance, has become an advocate, sharing her story to raise awareness about domestic violence and support other victims. She's in the process of writing a book about her experience and her story will be told in a “48 Hours” episode in the fall.

Recovery was gruelling, but Davis was determined. She said: "When I started spin class again, my friend had to help me on and off the bike. Now, I do it all by myself. I’ve come so far."

Her two sons, Mark, 35, a machinist from Jasper, and Mason, 30, a graphic designer from Acworth, were also her rock. She said: "They had to see me in ways no child should ever see their mother," Davis said, noting that Goss is their stepfather. She added: "But they never left my side. They took care of me when I couldn’t do anything for myself."

Davis' story would be featured on “48 Hours” this fall. "The producers are working on who to include — first responders, my doctors, the people who saved me. I gave them a list of everyone who had a hand in my survival," she said.

Davis, who is writing a book about her experience, says the journey hasn't been easy. Saying: "It’s overwhelming to relive it," she admitted. Listening to the 911 calls, watching the body cam footage — it’s a lot. That’s why it’s taking so long. But I’ll finish it. I know I need to. I tell my story so others know they can survive too,” she added. “You can get through anything."