CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) -
Millions of men and women are assaulted each year in our country.
Stalking is a bigger problem than once thought. About one in every 12 women has been a victim of stalking, and one in every 45 men.
Dale Wells was one of those men, shot five times by his ex-girlfriend in 2007.
"I turned to the right and I'm looking down the barrel of a 357 magnum," Dale Well said."She said,'If I can't have you nobody can.'"
A bullet went through Wells' chest and a second one went through and shattered his arm in two places.
"I fell to my stomach, she walked up on me, shot me twice in the back," Wells said."And then laid the barrel on the bridge of my neck."
Wells' ex-girlfriend had saved the last bullet for herself. She died, but Wells pulled through. He believes to tell us that love shouldn't hurt and more importantly to warn us to look for the tell tale signs of abuse.
"One day I was going to work and she didn't want me to go to work," Wells remembers."She said,'I want you to stay home. If you don't, I'm going to kill your dog.'"
Wells said one day he bought a chicken sandwich for her, but it wasn't correct and rage came over her at the drive through window.
"I can see the chicken sandwich going past my nose as she threw the chicken sandwich back in the window," Wells remembers.
Wells said he had to remove her from his house since he says he knew that it was going to get worse.
"She called me on March 15, my birthday, and asked me to come to the motel," Wells said.
Wells said when he went to meet his girlfriend, she said," I came here to kill you on your birthday and kill myself."
According to Wells, she couldn't get to the gun that time.
Three months later, Wells said she was hiding in his neighbor's bushes, tricked him to come outside and shot him.
"There's still three bullets inside of me right now," Wells said."Love doesn't hurt. You have to pay attention to all the signs dealing with domestic violence. Love yourself enough to say enough is enough. I'm not going to put up with it."
One of the bullets pulled from his body now hangs from a gold chain around his neck.
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