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Granny Was Packin' When Robber Came Callin'
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 9, 2006
Modified Mar 30, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 9, 2006
Modified Mar 30, 2009
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Okay, 56 year old Margaret Johnson is amazing. Johnson, who uses a motorized scooter because of a dislocated hip and herniated disk, was choked by a robber who grabbed her jewelry while she was riding along the Lenox Avenue in Harlem. Little did the robber know that Johnson was on her way to the shooting range and had her .357 magnum - so Johnson shot him. The robber was only hit in the elbow, so he managed to hobble away, but cops were able to find him by following the trail of blood to his apartment, and the robber was Deron Johnson (no relation to Margaret) who has a history of robberies. He was treated at a hospital and will probably be charged with robbery once again.
Margaret Johnson is a retired MTA bus driver - and she's the step-daughter of famous Harlem gangster Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson. And she does have a license for the gun (which she got when she was driving the bus) and is able to transport it to the shooting range. After being treated for her minor scrapes, she told reporters, "There's not much to it. Somebody tried to mug me, and I shot him. It was very scary." While vigilante justice can be debated, we have to applaud Margaret for defending herself. She rules!
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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