The Texas weatherman shot outside of the television studio where he works on Monday said he didn't know his attacker and that his recovery has been "a long process, a lot of pain."
Patrick Crawford, a meteorologist at NBC affiliate KCEN in the Waco area, was shot last Wednesday morning by an unidentified man. Despite reports that the two exchanged words, Crawford said "there was no interaction whatsoever."
"The man that shot me didn't say any words to me," he said. "He just started shooting at me as I was leaving the parking lot. ... I did not know him."
Crawford, who has worked at the station for two years, managed to drive off after being shot and to flag down a construction worker, who called in the shooting. Crawford underwent surgery at Scott & White Memorial Hospital — Temple, KCEN reported.
"My main focus is to continue to get better, to get healthy and to get home for me and my family," he said at a press conference, wearing a T-shirt bearing the Superman emblem. "Things are improving. I'm slowly getting better. It’s been a long process, a lot of pain."
Dr. Travis Isbell, a trauma surgeon caring for Crawford, said he has been an "excellent patient" who is doing "very well. He seems to have been in excellent spirits." Isbell said hospital staff was looking forward to Crawford's full recovery and to getting him home before the holidays.
A call placed to the Texas Department of Public Safety seeking an update on the investigation was not immediately returned.