Authorities are asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect in a robbery and shooting on the city’s eastside.
Brian Plott, the 47-year-old victim, was shot midday Sunday, June 12, in the 7000 block of First Ave. South. He said he was left for dead, heckled and refused help by multiple passers-by.
The victim has his realtor’s license and he flips and manages multiple properties in Birmingham. He and an investor recently bought a home on 66th Street South to renovate and, on that Sunday, he was checking out a similar property nearby that someone else had already renovated.
Plott said he was looking at the renovated home to see if the HVAC system had been replaced and glanced into the detached garage.
He said when he turned around, the suspect was pointing a gun at him.
Brian Plott is recovering after he robbed and shot on Sunday, June 12, 2022, in east Birmingham. (Contributed)
“As I turned back around, there’s a gun being shoved in my face,’’ Plott said. “It was quick enough that I lunged a little bit and reached for my pistol, but he had full intentions to shoot me and then rob me, not ask me for any items.”
Plott said he pushed the gun away and the bullet hit him in his right femur, close to the groin area.
“He goes through my waistline and pockets and then takes off running. I’m looking back and see a red Charger full of guys. All I’m thinking is they’re going to tell him to come back and finish the job,’’ he said.
“I dropped like a sack of potatoes,’’ he said. “I’m trying to pull myself, but my leg is basically detached from my body.”
His truck, gun, and cash were gone. His truck, he said, has since been recovered.
Plott said he screamed for help for about 10 to 15 minutes before a group of people – adults and children – walked by. He said he asked them to call the police because his cell phone had been damaged, but they refused.
He said they called him racial slurs. “If you would have heard the things that were said to me and how they were said to me, while young children were playing hopscotch…’’ he said. “I remember just laying on the driveway and people walking by and looking at me and then walking off. It was like I was an exhibit.”
One woman brought him a frozen water bottle to put under his neck. Finally, he said, a man picked him up and put him in a car, at first going to a fire station that was closed.
He said he told the guy that his femoral artery had been hit and “I don’t have much time.” The man then dropped him at UAB Hospital. “He saved my life,’’ he said.
Plott underwent surgery where doctors put a rod and screws in his right leg. He is now recovering at home.
He said the ordeal has both dumbfounded and shaken him.
“This man was willing to kill me for basically $600 worth of a gun and pocket cash,’’ he said. “If he just would have said give me your gun, give me your keys, I would have said, ‘Here you go buddy.’’’
He’s also having nightmares.
“I love what I do, and I’ve got to make a living, but does it bring fear and apprehension? Yes. It makes me nervous,’’ he said. “I need to stop giving people the benefit of the doubt and thinking the world is a nice place.”
“He had no problem shooting me and leaving me for dead,’’ Plott said. “I am human being, but he did not care one bit.”
Police are asking that anyone with information on the identity of the suspect call robbery detectives at 205-254-1753 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Tipsters to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward.
