A Fourth of July outing on the river took a painful turn for a woman Lee County woman.

Debbie Dunaway and her husband were on their boat in the river on Tuesday night watching fireworks when suddenly she felt a sting on the back of her head. At first, Dunaway thought it was a bug bite, but then her husband noticed blood.

"I thought I had been hit by the fireworks. But it felt like somebody had took a big hammer and hit me as hard as they could in the back of the head. And the knot came out instantly," Dunaway said.

The couple soon realized Dunaway had been shot.

She stayed calm and went to a local hospital before they transferred her to the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington. Doctors there removed the bullet, believed to have come from a rifle. They told Dunaway if she had been hit somewhere else on her head, she might have died.

Now Dunaway is urging folks to use caution with firearms and pay attention to where you're shooting before pulling the trigger.

Authorities do not know who is responsible for firing the bullet. Based on the way the bullet is curved, Debbie's husband believed it ricocheted before hitting her.

Dunaway says she's not in any pain and will go back to the doctor for a follow up in a couple of days.