Lauren Kanarek Shot By Olympian Michael Barisone, Called 911 While Her Fiancé Held Him Down
She is still in the hospital.
Instagram A shocking crime has exploded and now it's all the residents of a sleepy New Jersey town can talk about. A former Olympic equestrian is in handcuffs, two of his riders who lived on his property are shot and injured. What was the reason for this man going off the deep end and trying to take not just one life, but two? Who is Lauren Karanek? She's the victim of the shooting and probably the only person with all of the answers about what happened at this once tranquil horse rider's sanctuary.
1. Lauren Called 911
Moments before she passed out from her injuries, Lauren Kanarek, an equestrian who lived and trained on a New Jersey farm, made sure that the powers that be would know who it was who attempted to take her life. Bleeding on the farmhouse's back porch, she said to a 911 operator: "Michael Barisone shot me. I've been shot twice." Before the police arrived to get her the help that she needed, the gun would go off once more as Lauren's fiancé tried in vain to pry the gun out of the grip of the man who shot her: Michael Barisone, a former Olympian and the owner of the farmhouse Lauren and her fiancé rented.
2. Who Is Michael Barisone?
When the police arrived on the scene they charged Barisone with two counts of attempted murder and one count of weapons possession for the black and pink .9mm gun which was found at the scene where he was apprehended. Barisone, 54, competed with Team USA in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Barisone's specialty on the horse is dressage, horse riding while completing specific movements. The police cuffed Barisone and escorted him to the jail, but on his way to the police cruiser, there was just one thing he couldn't stop repeating: "I had a good life," he reportedly said multiple times.
3. Details Coming Into Focus
According to the authorities in the know, the motive for the shooting at the farm is still unknown, but some details regarding the case are now slowly coming into focus. Sources have alleged that Barisone was doing his best to try and evict Kanarek and her fiancé from the farm itself. But the issue was complicated as the couple didn't just rent the farmhouse, they also stabled their own horses on the property. According to the police, Barisone was eager to get Karanek off his property becayse she had gone to the township multiple times to complain about code violations at the rental.
4. Multiple Complaints
The police reported that prior to being called out after the shooting, they were called to the farm no less than six times in just the week leading up to the crime. What's more than that, Kanarek herself wrote a post online sharing that she felt like her life had been threatened: “A certain unknown drunk has literally just informed me ‘sleep with one eye open,’ I’m being bullied by a 6’3 man. Bullied to the point I’m afraid,’’ she wrote in a post on Facebook shared on August 2nd. It was clear that tensions between herself and Barisone were rising, but she had no inkling it would explode this way.
5. What Really Happened?
Court documents break down the events the day of the shooting very clearly. At 2:15 pm on Wednesday, Barisone confronted Kanarek and her fiancé on the porch of the farmhouse the couole was renting and living in full time. The conversation escalated and Barisone shot Karanek in the chest two times at point-blank range. Once the shots were issued, Kanarek's fiancé stepped in between them and tried to get the gun away from Barisone before he could do more damage. The documents indicate that at one point Barisone managed to issue a third shot, but the fiancé wasn't struck. Instead, the bullet broke a window.
6. What The Police Saw
The police were first called the house by a 911 call, but it wasn't Lauren's. According to court documents, the 911 operator simply heard a man's voice crying out for help. When they arrived at the scene, they spotted Kanarek's fiancé on top of Barisone just outside of the house. Kanarek herself was beside the pair on the pavement, bleedingly heavily. The police separated the two men, took Barisone's gun and arrested him immediately while Kanarek was rushed to the hospital for surgery. Both Barisone and Kanarek remain in the hospital at this time.
Rebecca Jane Stokes is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York with her cats, Batman and Margot. She's an experienced generalist with a passion for lifestyle, geek news, pop culture, and true crime.