SC clerk survives after being shot in the head by robber
Most people would feel lucky to survive any gunshot wound, but South Carolina
drycleaning clerk Heather Brammer is in a category all by herself.
On Friday, Aug. 22, a robber cleaned out the register and safe at City Laundry
and Cleaners in Manning, SC, and then asked Brammer to lay down face first on
the floor in the back of the store.
After she complied, the man subsequently shot her in the back of the head and
fled the premises.
By an extraordinary stroke of luck, the bullet hit the base of her skull in an
area where the bone density is at its thickest. It was just formidable enough
to keep the bullet from penetrating into her brain.
The injury knocked her unconscious for about 20 minutes, then the 23-year-old
clerk woke up and crawled to the front of the plant despite numb arms and legs
in order to dial 9-1-1.
During an interview on NBC’s Today show on Sept. 8, she told Meredith Vieira that she would have used her
cell phone to make the emergency call but her vision was too blurred to push
the small numbers.
“He shot me in the back of the head,” Brammer frantically told the 9-1-1 dispatcher. “I can’t see right. I can’t see straight.”
Help arrived quickly on the scene and took her to the hospital where she was
released six days later and is expected to fully recover.
When she appeared on the Today show only 17 days after the incident, she seemed
in good spirits.
“I feel pretty good, actually,” she said. “A lot better than two weeks ago.”
When she recounted the traumatic event, she said the shooter came into the plant
originally around 10:30 a.m. the same day inquiring about renting a tuxedo. She
described his demeanor as “nice” and “polite.”
He returned less than an hour later — much earlier than he said he would. He said he changed his mind about the tux,
then abruptly pulled out a handgun and fired it into the ceiling.
“I tried my best to remain calm just to make sure he wouldn’t do anything that was crazy, but it didn’t turn out that way,” she told Vieira.
After being treated at the hospital, Brammer was able to provide police with a
description of the suspect: a “black male in his 30s, medium to dark complexion, approximately 5' 11", with a stocky build.” He also had a goatee and wore a shear on his head.
He drove away in a green, four-door Mitsubishi Galant.
The Manning Police Department is currently tracking down every lead available,
but have not made any arrests at this time.
Anyone with information pertaining to the robber has been urged to call the
Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
To view Brammer’s Today show interview in its entirety should visit www.msnbc.msn.com and type “Heather Brammer” in the search engine on the homepage.
