Veteran shot to death in Tempe racial attack has renewed sense of purpose

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — This is the first time we’ve heard from a man who survived being shot in the face during what police called racially motivated attack in October at Tempe Beach Park.

Clinton Funnell considers her survival nothing short of a miracle.

He has lost several teeth and has scars, stitches and braces in his mouth, making it difficult for him to speak and eat.

But now he has a renewed sense of purpose as he says he has been given a second chance at life.

“It’s a cleanser and for me it’s a place of peace and calm,” he said as he painted.

The 53-year-old artist is also a veteran experiencing homelessness.

“Try to get people to see that even though we’re out here on the street, we’re still human beings,” Fannell said. “For a couple of minutes I actually thought I was going to die.”

Police say 27-year-old Jason Fox pulled out a gun while yelling racial slurs at the couple near the Mill Avenue Bridge, and just minutes later he shot Fannell in the face.

“This guy came in and said, ‘I’m here to shoot you,’ and I said, ‘You don’t want to shoot,’ before I could get the ‘I’ out of my mouth, I caught the bullet,” Fannell said. “It hit me in the jaw. It bounced into my mouth and knocked out a couple of teeth, and then the bullet lodged in my throat.”

Investigators quickly tracked down the suspect and attempted to arrest him, but they said Fox shot and killed a Tempe police detective, who returned fire, and Fox died at the scene.

Fannell believes he was too young to experience so much hatred.

“You base your hatred simply on the color of a person’s skin,” he said. “I wish I knew this guy a little better. Maybe I could make him think a little differently.”

He says he met Fox about two months before the attack at another nearby park.

Funnell recalls Fox making racist remarks while watching him paint.

“He admired it, but with contempt, like, how can you write something like that. Like I wasn’t worthy of the gift of talent,” Funnell said.

While the emotional and physical pain can be lingering, Funnell says his survival has renewed his desire to help others and reunite with his family.

“Blessed, and I seem to have something to do. I’m here now for a reason,” Fannell said.

Clinton says he is grateful to all the first responders and doctors who saved him. He says he had the opportunity to shake the hand of the detective Fox also shot, which meant a lot to him.

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