As far as John Santos knew, his relationship with his brother-in-law was fine.

He compared any conflict he had had with John Duchesne to a pair of brothers roughhousing. Nothing more. Nothing serious.

Duchesne lives in Franklin, at the home of Santos and his wife, Whytney Santos, who’s Duchesne’s sister.

Four of six children were in the home on Nov. 3, when police say Duchesne fired his black Glock .45 handgun at Santos leaving him paralyzed from the chest down.

Santos is recovering at Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Boston. Once a 178-pound stick of dynamite, a lean, feared, powerful MMA fighter with 7 percent body fat, Santos now finds himself hoping he’ll one day walk again while pondering how in the world his brother-in-law could have opened fire on him.

“I thought we had a pretty good relationship,” Santos said by phone from the rehabilitation center. “We always looked out for each other and everything was good.”

Duchesne has been charged with first-degree assault, reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one for each child who was present at the time of the shooting.

Santos’s 14-year-old daughter was grazed by bullet, which turned out to be a minor injury. Duchesne is free on personal bail. His two lawyers, both public defenders, were unavailable for comment, but, based on the affidavit written by Franklin Police Officer Jon Francis, Duchesne said he was merely protecting his sister and a child from Santos.

“John (Duchesne) got to me and uttered they were all drinking,” Francis, the arresting officer, wrote in his report. “John Santos is his brother-in-law and he was beating up his sister and a kid, so he shot him.”

The officer advised Duchesne not to say anything further and put him in handcuffs.

Francis’s report mentioned that he “could see what appeared to be three bullet holes on John Santos’s back and neck.”

Concord Hospital staff noted spinal damage to his C7 vertebrae, at the base of his neck, according to court records.

Stella Demers and Nick Santos, John’s mother and brother, wanted to draw attention to his plight and spread the word that a GoFundMe page had been established to help them defray medical costs.

“He got shot in the neck,” said brother Nick Santos, who lays foundations. “He got shot in the eyebrow. He got shot in the back the shoulder and the side.”

All were drinking heavily that night, police said. The fight erupted over money and children. That much is clear. One man may be paralyzed, the other may go to prison.

John and Nick Santos said that it’s pretty obvious who’s at fault. John got hit again and again and again by bullets, not fists.

“You do not shoot someone from behind, that is not self-defense,” said Nick Santos, sitting with his mother outside the Concord Hospital cafeteria. “All shots were from behind. He was on his hands and knees.”

John Santos said he was arguing with his brother-in-law and sister and tripped on a chair, bringing him to his knees. That’s when Duchesne fired, John Santos said.

Santos said Duchesne calmly waited outside for the police, who were phoned by one of the children, while he was left alone, bleeding from holes that police had to plug before medical help arrived.

The police report noted that Duchesne waited on the porch for police to arrive and knelt down with his hands in the air without incident.

Doctors have told the family that the next year will determine how much mobility Santos gets back. From there, improvement would become more difficult.

The police affidavit painted a chilling picture, saying “In a bedroom, to the right of the front door, I could see John Santos laying face down (in a) fetal position. John Santos’s head awkwardly up against a couch with his legs folded underneath him. It appeared he had received no medical aid or had been moved in any way.”

Santos said more than his body is broken.

“I never thought he would do something like that, never in a million years,” John Santos said. “I helped him get his driver’s license back, helped him get his first car. He lived with us for eight years.”

“You realize how quick and serious things can get and how fast it can come to an end.”