Don't mess with this handicapped lady!

[Cross-X]

Woman in wheelchair shoots alleged mugger
September 8, 2006

NEW YORK --Margaret Johnson's wheelchair might have made her look like an easy target. But when a mugger tried to grab a chain off her neck Friday, the 56-year-old pulled out her licensed .357 pistol and shot him, police said.

Johnson said she was in Harlem on her way to a shooting range when the man, identified by police as 45-year-old Deron Johnson, came up from behind and went for the chain.

"There's not much to it," she said in a brief interview. "Somebody tried to mug me, and I shot him."

Deron Johnson was taken to Harlem Hospital with a single bullet wound in the elbow, police said. He faces a robbery charge, said Lt. John Grimpel, a police spokesman.

Margaret Johnson, who lives in Harlem, has a permit for the weapon and does not face charges, Grimpel said. She also was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and later released.

 

[dreppucci007]

Johnson said she was in Harlem on her way to a shooting range when the man, identified by police as 45-year-old Deron Johnson, came up from behind and went for the chain.

"There's not much to it," she said in a brief interview. "Somebody tried to mug me, and I shot him."

That's just friggin' awesome!

 

[Cross-X]

A few more details:


Woman in a Wheelchair Shoots an Attacker

By ANAHAD O’CONNOR and SARAH GARLAND
Published: September 9, 2006

As muggings go, it began like many others. A 56-year-old woman was leaving her building in her wheelchair, her only company the small dog perched on her lap.

Her attacker came from behind, the police said, and there was no one else around. But this attempted robbery had an ending unlike many others. As it turns out, the would-be victim, Margaret Johnson, has a permit to carry a .357 handgun — and she carries it often.

The mugging ended seconds after it began, the police said, when Ms. Johnson pulled out her gun and shot her attacker in his arm. Last night, the man accused of the attempted mugging, Deron Johnson, 45, was in stable condition at Harlem Hospital Center with a gunshot wound to his elbow, the police said. He was under protective custody and is facing a robbery charge, the police said.

Ms. Johnson, who was treated at a local hospital and later released, said she suffered bruises to her neck and arm. “I’m tired, I’m really tired,” she said as she sat in her apartment last night, wearing a tan baseball cap and appearing rattled. “He tried to mug me, so I shot him.”

Friends and neighbors said they were not shocked to learn that the woman known to scoot around her building with her small dog had held her ground. Tio Frederick, 26, a lawyer and neighbor who has known Ms. Johnson for 20 years, called her amicable but tough and spunky. “I wouldn’t assume that if she got mugged she would let someone just take her stuff,” she said.

The encounter began about 3 p.m. on a sidewalk behind 470 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, the building where Ms. Johnson has lived for more than 20 years. The building has a doorman and many of its residents are professionals, but neighbors have recently complained about robberies.

Yesterday, as is often the case, friends said, Ms. Johnson had her small bichon with her, and was going to a nearby firing range. As she rolled out of the building, a man approached, and Ms. Johnson tried to say hello, said Lynell Bunce, 40, a friend who spoke with Ms. Johnson afterward. “She found him walking by, and she was going to say, ‘Good afternoon,’ ” Ms. Bunce said.

Instead of returning the greeting, the man looked away and walked past her without saying a word, Ms. Bunce said. Seconds later, Ms. Johnson felt an arm grab her violently from behind, tearing at her pocketbook and her necklace.

The man managed to get the necklace, but Ms. Johnson refused to let go of her pocketbook, the police said.

As the man choked her and struggled with her, Ms. Johnson pulled out her gun and fired a single shot.

The police said that Ms. Johnson did not have a criminal record and was not facing any charges. The permit she has for her gun allows her to have it in her home and to transport it to a range, which is what she was doing, they said.

The man accused of attacking her, Mr. Johnson (no relation), was described by the authorities as a “robbery recidivist,’’ with nine previous arrests. He spent several years in prison for criminal sale of a controlled substance, and he was released in February 2003, according to Department of Correction Records.

Last night, Ms. Johnson was in no mood to celebrate what she did, friends said. Ms. Bunce, a longtime neighbor, said Ms. Johnson was frightened and threatened never to walk her dog again.

“She was very much the victim,” Ms. Bunce said. “She was scared for her life. She’s devastated.”

 

[JonJ]

The man accused of attacking her, Mr. Johnson (no relation), was described by the authorities as a “robbery recidivist,’’ with nine previous arrests. He spent several years in prison for criminal sale of a controlled substance, and he was released in February 2003, according to Department of Correction Records.

A sickening reoccurring theme these days.
Wonder what Bloomberg has to say.
We know mumbles would say "Ah ya doy, dial 9-1-1"

 

[MarkM]

The permit she has for her gun allows her to have it in her home and to transport it to a range, which is what she was doing, they said.

Good for her for shooting the scumbag and for having the smarts to say the right thing when questioned about the gun.

"No officer, I don't normally carry it but by a stroke of good fortune I was just headed out to the range."

 

[reinbeau]

Last night, Ms. Johnson was in no mood to celebrate what she did, friends said. Ms. Bunce, a longtime neighbor, said Ms. Johnson was frightened and threatened never to walk her dog again.

“She was very much the victim,” Ms. Bunce said. “She was scared for her life. She’s devastated.”

Poor woman, even though she had the equalizer, she's still terrorized. At least she had the presence of mind to defend herself - too bad she didn't off the a**hole, although it wasn't for lack of trying.

 

[hminsky]

I am betting you cannot carry a loaded gun "on the way to the range" in NY either, but the prosecutors probably realize that the would be lynched in they tried to prosecute a 56 year old wheelchair bound woman for defending herself against a mugger.

 

[Bolt308]

I am betting you cannot carry a loaded gun "on the way to the range" in NY either, but the prosecutors probably realize that the would be lynched in they tried to prosecute a 56 year old wheelchair bound woman for defending herself against a mugger.

As they should be.

 

[Jeremiah]

Poor woman, even though she had the equalizer, she's still terrorized. At least she had the presence of mind to defend herself - too bad she didn't off the a**hole, although it wasn't for lack of trying.

Makes sense. She can't move faster than 1/2 a mile an hour. The recidivistic thug--and his disreputable friends--all know where she lives and that she carries valuables (guns). She can't live independantly without going onto the street for groceries, to walk the dog, etc.

It sounds like she's living in an ok part of Harlem, but still, no wonder she's terrified. Poor woman. Still, she's better off than she would have been otherwise.

 

[reinbeau]

Jeramiah, I wasn't saying she shouldn't be terrorized, I was sympathizing with her. No one should live in fear, now she's got all sorts of reasons to fear.