Updated

This is a partial transcript from "On the Record," March 11, 2005, that has been edited for clarity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, HOST: After [Atlanta shooting suspect] Brian Nichols murdered the judge, the court reporter and the deputy, he fled the courthouse, and he then carjacked a newspaper reporter at gunpoint.

Joining us in Atlanta is the carjacking victim, Don O'Briant of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Don, you're actually a very lucky man tonight in spite of your experience.

DON O'BRIANT, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yes, I am. I'm very lucky.

VAN SUSTEREN: Don, tell us what happened? First of all, what were you doing in the area of the courthouse this morning?

O'BRIANT: Well, I was going to Centennial Garage where I always park on the way to work, and I had just pulled into my parking space when an SUV pulled in beside me, and there was a black man with no shirt on in it.

He stood up and asked me asked me directions to Lennox Square, and, as I was explaining how to get there, he walked around and pulled out a gun and said give me your keys or I'll kill you. I gave him my keys, and I thought he wanted my wallet, took, but, instead, he opened my trunk and tried to get me to get in the trunk, and I refused.

And he threatened me again. I took a step back, and then he came and hit me with his pistol and knocked me to the ground. I scrambled to my feet and managed to make it to Marietta Street, and, apparently, he didn't follow me. He drove away my car.

VAN SUSTEREN: When you say you managed to make it to Marietta Street, I take it you took off fast? I mean, you were running?

O'BRIANT: I couldn't walk very fast. I was stumbling because there was blood in my left eye. I couldn't see, and I was still kind of dazed, and I was trying to find anyone to help, but there was no one in that part of town at that moment. And I happened to make it.

A couple of blocks away, I ran into a reporter from the paper who said that there had been a similar carjacking down the street, and the police were down there interviewing the woman. So we went down there, and I gave them the information about the car.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right. And you said that the man had no shirt on. That's the first I've heard that. Do you recall, you know, what his pants looked like, because people are desperately trying to locate this man, and we know that he was last seen in a green Honda, but shirtless may help a little bit more, but he may have gotten one by now.

O'BRIANT: Yes, I had no idea. I know he had dark pants, but, when he pulled the gun, that was the only thing I saw for a while there.

VAN SUSTEREN: But are you certain he had no shirt on?

O'BRIANT: From what I could tell in the car, he didn't. But I figured that since there was a basketball tournament in town, sometimes fans show up in weird outfits or even no shirts, so I didn't take it as that unusual.

VAN SUSTEREN: About how far is that parking lot from the courthouse?

O'BRIANT: I'm not sure. It's, you know, a block across -- right across the street from the CNN Center.

VAN SUSTEREN: I know time's always distorted in stressful situations, but how long do you think you spent with him?

O'BRIANT: Probably no more than a couple of minutes because he was determined to get me in the trunk, but, fortunately, I had a lot of junk in the trunk, and I didn't want to get there in the first place, and I knew if I got in, I wouldn't get out alive.

VAN SUSTEREN: Where did you get the wherewithal to buck him on terms on getting into the trunk?

O'BRIANT: Well, it was either run and take a chance on being shot in the back or getting in the trunk and going to a sure execution. Of course, at the time I had no idea he had killed people.

VAN SUSTEREN: Were you afraid or determined, because people react, you know, differently in stressful situations. Some just get determined, and some are terrified.

O'BRIANT: Well, your mind starts racing, and you try to figure out what you can do to get away, and I ruled out option number one, which was trying to take the gun away from him, and the second option was just to run.

VAN SUSTEREN: What are your injuries? I can see at least on the television screen you've got a bruise on the front of your face. At least it looks like it.

O'BRIANT: The corner of my eye took 15 stitches and I broke my wrist when I fell, and I'm going to have a plate put in there, I think...

VAN SUSTEREN: Is your wrist in a cast now?

O'BRIANT: It's in a temporary cast, yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: Can you describe that SUV?

O'BRIANT: You know, I'm not positive. I think it was a Ford Explorer, and it was either a dark gray or dark green or something like that, and, as I said, I thought it was unusual for him to be driving up without a shirt on, but not that unusual.

VAN SUSTEREN: Is your car the Honda?

O'BRIANT: Yes, it is. He's still in it.

VAN SUSTEREN: And we have the right year, 1997?

O'BRIANT: That's correct.

VAN SUSTEREN: Is it a dark green, light green? What can you tell us about the green color?

O'BRIANT: Kind of a teal green. Yes, it's that particular green for that year, and no -- unfortunately, no distinctive bumps or dents or markings on it. It has a Curry Honda sticker on the back from where from the car dealer I bought it from.

VAN SUSTEREN: Two-door or four-door?

O'BRIANT: Four-door.

VAN SUSTEREN: In terms of the whole sort of confrontation, anybody else around?

O'BRIANT: Didn't see a soul, and that was unusual. You know, this was about 9:15 maybe, and, usually, there are people arriving for work and wandering around, and that was what was so terrifying. Once I got away from the immediate scene there, I was afraid he was going to follow me, and I couldn't find anyone to yell for, so I just kept going.

VAN SUSTEREN: Believe it or not, Don, with those stitches and a broken wrist, you're a very, very lucky man.

O'BRIANT: You're absolutely right. It's a tragic day for the other people at the courthouse.

VAN SUSTEREN: Boy, it sure is. It sure is.

Don, thank you.

O'BRIANT: Thank you very much.

Watch "On the Record" weeknights at 10 p.m. ET

Content and Programming Copyright 2005 FOX News Network, L.L.C. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2005 eMediaMillWorks, Inc. (f/k/a Federal Document Clearing House, Inc.), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon FOX News Network, L.L.C.'s and eMediaMillWorks, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.