Man recovering after being shot in face during SoCal 7-Eleven robbery

LA HABRA, Calif. (KABC) -- A man who survived getting shot in the face during a string of Southern California 7-Eleven robberies early Monday is sharing his harrowing story after he was released from a hospital.

For Russell Browning, his local 7-Eleven store in La Habra is usually where he starts his day. The father and husband, who is known for his charm, has made picking up doughnuts and some milk before work a part of his routine.

On Monday morning, he saw two men, one of them a clerk, arguing outside.

Browning was in his car when the man, later identified as the suspect in five other 7-Eleven robberies that day, pulled out a gun and shot through the window.

WATCH | 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 bullet traveled into and out of Browning's mouth. After that he was hit by shock, then grace.

"That's the first thing I said when I realized I was not dead. I said, 'thank you Lord,' and then I called [my wife], and then I gave the phone to the deputy," Browning said.

His wife, Georgan Browning, described that phone call.

"I knew right away something was wrong," she told Eyewitness News.

MORE: Suspect sought after 2 killed in string of robberies at SoCal 7-Eleven stores; at least 6 connected

An urgent search continued Tuesday for a suspect after two people were killed and three others wounded in a series of robberies at six 7-Eleven stores across Southern California.

"And he said 'Honey, I've been shot,'" Georgan said. "And he said, 'I'm OK, honey, but if I die, I know where I'm going. I'm OK.' I think I went into shock."

Browning is still recovering and needs more cosmetic and dental work after being shot. He suffered shattered bones to his face, his teeth were knocked out and he required plastic surgery. His jaw had to be wired shut.

"He's doing OK," Georgan said. "The difference between Monday and [Tuesday] was amazing."

"You know, it's not as bad as I thought," Browning said from home. "I mean, I still got my good looks."

With his sense of humor apparently still there, his spirits are also rooted in reality. He noted how the gunman's crime spree left two people dead.

Browning said he's fortunate to have survived.

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.

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

While bullet fragments remain lodged in his head, Jason Harrel is awake. His daughter said he woke up Tuesday, but is unable to speak yet. She also said he's partially paralyzed.

The 7-Eleven convenience store chain offered a $100,000 reward Wednesday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the masked suspect accused of robbing the six Southern California stores, killing two people and wounding three others.

Police say the suspect was captured on surveillance video wearing a black hoodie with white lettering and green leaves on the front.

"I'm angry, but in my heart I want to have mercy and forgive him," Georgan Browning said. "And I want him to get help, and I don't want him to hurt anybody else."