Keshondra Howard Turner has been serving up delicious meals out of her family’s food truck in Houston for about three years now, and never had a problem with thieves or robbers… until this week. On Tuesday, the 53-year-old grandmother was on the job and inside the Elite Eats truck when a young man rolled up and asked what was on the menu before pulling a gun and stepping out of his truck.

Houston police Lt. Bryan Bui says as the robber approached Turner she managed to shut the food truck’s service window, but that didn’t dissuade the suspect from trying to get inside. He managed to open up the window and then pointed the gun at Howard from just a few feet away.

That’s when, according to Bui, the suspect tried to shoot but his gun jammed.

Turner then shot the man several times, police said. He collapsed about 50 feet away from the truck, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

HPD investigators said nothing was taken from the food truck and they’re checking the area for surveillance video. Bui said the robber didn’t fire a shot.

Investigators also said that Turner is licensed to carry.

Turner’s son said she would never have wanted to use her gun, but she didn’t have a choice.

“My momma is a great person, you know? Good-hearted, looking out for everybody. She’d give the shirt off her back,” Derick Howard said.

…  “I hope she’s alright because I know right now she’s going crazy because that’s not even (like) her,” her son said.

HPD officials said Turner had a panic attack after the shooting. She was taken to an area hospital for treatment. Now, her loved ones are hoping she will return to the family-run business. They’re also thankful that she’s alive.

“She’s a Godly woman, that’s why the gun jammed because God jammed it,” Howard said.

Contrary to what anti-gunners routinely claim, no gun owner I know is walking around with a concealed firearm just hoping to be the victim of a violent crime so they can whip out their gun and shoot their attacker. Like Howard, we’d much prefer to simply be left alone, but we also know that it’s not really up to us to decide if we’re going to be the target of some violent criminal. Our choice is how we would respond if, God forbid, we’re ever in a situation similar to Howard, and tens of millions of Americans have decided they want the chance to fight back if possible.

I’m sure that Howard’s encounter with the 23-year-old armed robber was one of the most traumatic moments of her life, and I’m glad that her family and friends are there to support her going forward. I just hope that Howard doesn’t blame herself here. The truth is the 23-year-old who lost his life would be alive today if he had made the choice to order a pork chop sandwich or wings. Instead he made the fatal decision to point a gun at Howard’s head, perhaps thinking that there was no way this sweet woman would have a gun of her own holstered on her hip.

Like Howard, I wish this encounter would have played out differently, but I’m grateful that she’s alive today thanks to her choice to protect herself with a firearm.