Riverside man shot during 7-Eleven robbery still has bullet fragments in head: 'He's a fighter'

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- It's been two days since a string of shootings and robberies at 7-Eleven stores left two people dead and the suspect remains on the run. Now, a Riverside family is speaking out after their loved one was seriously injured in one of the incidents.

"You get shot in the head then you wake up the next day, like, I feel like that is a miracle," said Kaya Harrel, whose father was shot during an armed robbery at a Riverside 7-Eleven store early Monday morning. "It's something we didn't expect."

Kaya said her father, Jason Harrel, likely went to the store to purchase cigarettes and came across the suspect as he was robbing the store.

READ ALSO | Wife of man shot in 7-Eleven robbery recalls phone call with husband: 'I knew something was wrong'

The wife of the La Habra customer who was shot in the face during a string of 7-Eleven robberies detailed the phone call she received from her husband right after he was wounded.

The same suspect has been linked to five other robberies at 7-Eleven stores that occurred throughout the day on Monday.

During the five-hour crime spree, investigators say the suspect targeted stores in Brea, La Habra, Riverside, Upland, Santa Ana and Ontario. Two people were killed and several others, including Jason Harrel, were injured.

"When we talked to the detectives, they said our dad did nothing in any way, or the clerk, to provoke the shooter," said Kaya Harrel. "But knowing my dad, if he would see something, he would say something."

While bullet fragments remain lodged in his head, Jason Harrel is awake.

READ ALSO | Dad mourns son killed in SoCal 7-Eleven shootings: 'The minute he is doing well somebody shoots him'

Matthew Hirsch was just turning his life around after decades of battling drug addiction, but his life ended when a masked shooter gunned down the 40-year-old clerk inside a 7-Eleven store in Brea.

His daughter said he woke up Tuesday, but is unable to speak yet. She also said he's partially paralyzed.

"He's a fighter," said Kaya Harrel. "When he woke up, he tried to take out the ventilator himself. So, now he is breathing on his own. He actually tried to stand up, but only the left side of his body is working right now."

As the search for the suspect intensifies, authorities are asking anyone who may have information about these robberies and shooting - or video that was taken in these areas at these times - to come forward.

Kaya Harrel is also begging for the public's help.

"If anybody does know anything, you have to speak up, because this could be your dad, this could be your son laying in that bed," she said.