Christy Carlson Romano Feared Death After Shooting Accident

WHO:

NY Post - Christy Carlson Romano, star of “Even Stevens” and “Kim Possible,” is the subject of the article and author of the memoir *Once Upon a Trainwreck*.

Fox News - Romano is married to Brendan Rooney, a military veteran and former Marine; the couple has two daughters and has been married since 2013.

Fox News - Romano’s surgeon, Dr. Sean Paul, is an oculoplastic surgeon who described the location of the birdshot injuries.

Fox News - Romano said another person in the shooting party fired too close to her; the article does not identify that person and says the shooter was remorseful.

WHAT:

NY Post - Romano said she thought she was “going to die” after a shooting accident.

Fox News - Romano was struck in the face by stray birdshot during clay pigeon shooting. Pellets lodged beneath her eye and in her forehead; one remains about a millimeter from a critical structure, and she said it could cause blindness if it moves.

Fox News - Paul said the pellet narrowly missed Romano’s eyeball, optic nerve and eye muscles by about a millimeter. She also suffered bleeding beneath the membrane covering the white of her eye; the pellet did not penetrate the eyeball.

Fox News - Doctors judged that removing the fragments would be too risky, so they were left in place. Romano described her recovery as “pretty miraculous” and thanked staff at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center.

Fox News - Romano recalled collapsing, becoming lightheaded and seeing a “dark liquid” spread across her contact lenses. She wrote, “Am I dead? ... Oh God — my girls.”

Fox News - Romano’s memoir, *Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Fall and Rise of a Child Star*, discusses childhood fame, toxic relationships and the shooting. She said she wrote letters to her daughters in the book.

Fox News - Romano said the incident changed her perspective after becoming a mother and reinforced that “life is short.” She said her life now focuses on personal growth and faith.

WHERE:

Fox News - The accident occurred at a clay pigeon shooting range in Texas. Romano said the couple was in Texas, where such outings are common.

Fox News - Romano received care at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center in Austin, Texas.

WHEN:

Fox News - The article says the shooting happened in 2025. It also reports that Romano revealed a positive cancer-screening result on Instagram in February 2026.

WHY:

Fox News - Romano and Rooney went clay pigeon shooting while celebrating Rooney’s birthday. Romano said they went because she thought Rooney, a former Marine, would enjoy it.

Fox News - Romano said health scares after turning 40 motivated her to write her memoir.

HOW:

Fox News - Clay pigeon shooting uses shotguns firing small pellets at circular clay targets launched into the air.

Fox News - Romano said she was hit by birdshot from about 250 feet away. She wrote that the drive to the hospital reached 112 miles per hour.

Fox News - Romano said both her parents had cancer; her mother survived and her father died of the disease. Her maternal grandmother died of lung cancer. Rooney’s cancer-screening result was negative.

(UPDATED October 24, 2026 18:01 UTC)

Actress Christy Carlson Romano says she thought she was going to die after being struck in the face by birdshot during a clay pigeon shooting accident in Texas. Romano and her husband, former Marine Brendan Rooney, were celebrating his birthday when another person fired too close. Pellets lodged beneath her eye and in her forehead, narrowly missing her eyeball, optic nerve and eye muscles. One fragment remains about a millimeter from a critical structure and could cause blindness if it moves. Doctors decided removing the fragments was too risky, and Romano called her recovery “pretty miraculous.” She recalled collapsing and seeing blood spread across her contact lenses, then thinking of her daughters. The incident features in her memoir, *Once Upon a Trainwreck*, which also explores childhood fame and toxic relationships.