Postman forgives bank robber who shot him in face.

By Russ McQuaid
Source: Fox59
3:18 p.m. EST, December 20, 2010

A bank robber from Ethiopa was sentenced to serve 25 years for the robbery and for shooting a postal worker in the face.

 

Indianapolis —

A postman who walked into a bank robbery in Indianapolis back in 2009 has forgiven the robber who shot him in the face. Postal worker Bob Norman told a federal judge he suffered permanent injuries after he was wounded by Brook Abebe.

Abebe, an Ethiopian immigrant, was sentenced to serve 25 years in prison for the bank robbery and shooting. He'll likely be deported back home when he leaves prison.

The shooting and bank robbery occurred on July 2nd, 2009 outside a Chase bank branch on the southeast side. That's when Bob Norman came face to face with Abebe.

"His back was to me and he turned around and had the gun and kind of struggled with the gun and he put it in my face and if I wouldn't have grabbed it, I was looking straight down the barrel. When I grabbed it, that's when it went off... bam, that quick," said Norman.

As Norman fell to the ground with blood spurting out of his face, he thought he was a dead man.

"He stood above me, called me stupid stupid stupid, pointing the gun at me, I thought he was gonna shoot me again," said Norman.

Abebe sped off but crashed his getaway car into a tree a half mile away.

"I forgave him the next day. I could not hold that in me. God protected me and by God's graces is why I'm here," said Norman.