EUGENE, Ore. -- The woman hit by a paintball Tuesday night detailed her terrifying experience.

Heidi told KEZI she was walking home from work along Maxwell Road when she heard a car coming out of the distance. She said she saw what looked like a barrel of a gun sticking out of one of the windows. That's when the shooting started.

"They just kept firing, just, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop," Heidi said. "I just froze, I was scared, I couldn't move."

Heidi was struck on the left side of the face by one of the paintballs. But at first, she didn't know that's what it was.

"They hit me, and I fell on the ground," Heidi said. "I grabbed my face when it hit me. I pulled my hand away a little bit, and I felt the wet from the paintball. I thought it was blood, and I freaked out."

Heidi initially thought that she was shot by an actual gun. She lay there screaming for help. A man nearby ran over and helped Heidi. The thoughts of not seeing her four children anymore raced through her head.

"The first thing I thought was that I'm not coming home," Heidi said. "What are my kids going to do? I'm a single mom."

Though it ended up being a paintball, it still left significant injures. Heidi's left cheek is bruised and swollen. The impact of hitting the ground cracked a tooth. Heidi said trying to explain these injuries to her children has been difficult.

"I didn't want to explain to my 4-year-old or my 5-year-old that there are horrible, mean people out there who want to hurt people," Heidi said.

The bruising and swelling may be temporary, but what happened to Heidi Wednesday night will stay with her forever.

"It's not right," Heidi said. "We're still human. You shouldn't make somebody fear like that. That's not okay."