Paula Deen speaks out about ‘horrifying’ gunpoint robbery after 1987 attacker is found dead in NYC

Paula Deen reveals she collapsed after being held at gunpoint during a 1987 bank robbery, calling it a "horrifying experience" that shaped her life.

"A man burst through the front door fully masked and waving a gun … Came straight to me and put that gun against my head. And I said, 'Oh, my Lord, he's going to shoot me out of just reflex,' just because he was trembling so bad." "Fear was always there, and after you face so many things, you know, it kind of makes you stronger. You get through it, say, 'Well, I survived.'"

She said, after walking into the bank and looking at her coworker, "I said, 'Oh, heavens to Betsy. This is a perfect setup for a robbery.' And she said, 'Oh, girl, don't say that.'"

But at 4 p.m., "a man burst through the front door fully masked and waving a gun. And he didn't even glance her way," Deen said of the other woman. "But came straight to me and put that gun against my head. And I said, 'Oh, my Lord, he's going to shoot me out of just reflex,' just because he was trembling so bad."