A mailman who was shot in the eye Thursday after a Southeastside bank robbery said he was trying to get the suspect’s license plate number and vehicle description when he bumped into the suspect.

Bob Norman, 54, Franklin, spoke about his experience today at Methodist Hospital, where he is recovering and awaiting surgery on Tuesday.

The right side of his face is swollen from a shattered cheek and jawbone fractured in eight places, and though the tissue around his right eye is a deep shade of purple, he can see out of it.The suspect in the robbery, Brook Abebe, is being held on a long list of charges that include attempted murder, robbery, criminal confinement, felon in possession of a handgun, pointing a firearm and criminal recklessness. Det. Sgt. Kevin Wethington of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said local authorities will screen his case Monday, and Abebe, a resident alien, will face a federal arraignment later this week.Norman, a 30-year mailman who is assigned to the Wanamaker Branch, said he stopped at the Chase at Southeastern and Northeastern avenues about 3 p.m. Thursday to get lunch money. He was eating late, he said, because earlier that day, he had discovered that one of his patrons, an elderly woman whom he checked on occasionally because she was a shut-in, had died at her home.Inside the bank, Abebe fired a shot, and Norman said he could see debris falling from the ceiling. Abebe had told Norman and about five other customers who were in the bank at the time to get down on the ground. Norman got down on one knee and kept his hand on his cell phone.When he left the bank after the robbery, he called 911 and went around to the back of the bank, where he figured Abebe had parked his car, to get his vehicle information. He came face-to-face with Abebe and struggled to turn the gun, a .38 revolver, away from him. The shot was fired and struck Norman in the eye.Norman collapsed to the ground, grasping his eye as he saw the blood gushing from his face. He thought he might die, so someone handed him his phone that he had dropped. He called his wife, Deb, to tell her that he loved her, and they talked until the paramedics arrived.As he was being transported to the hospital, he joked with paramedics about being stuck with needles, and he prayed.“I would do the same thing again,” Norman said. “I’m not a chicken soul. I’m not afraid to die. I did what I had to do.”Norman’s jaw will be wired shut for six to eight weeks while he recovers. He said he anticipated going back to work.