It was an ordinary evening for Joe Tucker and his
wife Thursday. His wife wanted to get some shopping
done, so the northwest Jefferson County residents
drove to the Brookwood Village Macy’s in Mountain
Brook.
Tucker was listening to the radio in his car in the
parking lot with the windows rolled down.
“I had been sitting in the car for about 90 minutes
while my wife was inside shopping,” Tucker said. “I
saw many people — (including) women and children
— go in and out of that store the whole time. A Brookwood
Village security guard drove by … multiple times.
… Heck, you could have been having a picnic out there,
it felt so safe.”
About 8:45 p.m., a man rushed to his car, jabbed the
barrel of a revolver handgun into the side of his face
and demanded money, Tucker said.
The 64-year-old reacted quickly, grabbing the barrel
of the gun and thrusting it forward, almost taking the
gun from the hands of the robber.
“He fell back a little bit, and I think it caught him off
guard. I think he was as caught off guard as I was at that
point,” he said. “He caught his balance and pointed the
gun right back at me. I have no clue why he didn’t shoot
me, but he didn’t.”
While the robber was gathering his balance, Tucker
— a former Marine — was reaching for his own gun,
which he has a carry-permit for, in the console of his
SUV.
“The guy just took off, and I got out of the truck and
ran after him,” Tucker said.
Tucker followed as quickly as he could, but he lost
sight of him. A Macy’s loss-prevention officer saw the
whole exchange from the front door of the store and
called police.
Within minutes, Mountain Brook and Homewood
police were on the scene searching the area for the suspect.
Tucker said the police were professional, thorough
and speedy.
For Tucker and his wife, the experience was “eyeopening”
and he said he wants people to be more cautious
of their surroundings.
“I’m lucky to be alive. It could have happened to anyone,”
Tucker said. “If it can happen at Brookwood Village,
it can happen anywhere. I hope people can use
my experience to know that they should not be so passive.
We need to stand up for ourselves and stop all
this.”
Mountain Brook police are still searching for the
suspect, who is described as a 20-to-25-year-old black
male about 5-foot, 9-inches tall and 180 pounds. The
suspect got into a waiting vehicle, a dark blue Dodge
Avenger, authorities said.