Image via Pixabay

Most people who own a gun for self-defense will never have to use it. A lot of people would be shocked to know that police officers rarely draw their weapons, so the chances of the average citizen drawing down on a bad guy are extremely low.

However, a grandmother in Alabama had to do just that.

A gun-wielding grandmother in Alabama confronted a wanted man in her driveway on Monday after he crashed a stolen car near her home, according to investigators.

Marcia Black, 75, said she pointed a rifle at the suspect while her 15-year-old granddaughter called 911.

“I was just calm as can be. I knew I was in control,” the grandmother-of-four told WAAY-TVon Tuesday.

Investigators said Cameron Powers came to Black’s home in Limestone County, west of Huntsville.

“I walked out and said, ‘Can I help you?’ He said, ‘Yes ma’am, I’d like to use your phone,” Black said.

She said she fired a shot in the air to stop Powers from getting closer to her house where two of her grandchildren reportedly were watching from inside.

“I wanted to keep him at a distance. I didn’t intend to kill him. I just wanted him to think that I would shoot him,” Black said.

First, do not mess with Southern grandmas. Just don’t. They might be all sweetness and love and baked goods when times are nice, but they aren’t afraid to whoop a butt.

Powers thought he could push his way through the elderly woman, only to find found out that he couldn’t.

Now, I could critique Black’s actions until the cows come home. Her shooting in the air, not being in the headspace of maybe needing to shot the guy, all sorts of things I could talk about but I won’t. I doubt she’d read it and I doubt you all don’t already know these things.

What I will say is that it’s a good thing she was armed and able to utilize that firearm when she needed it.

There are those who would have mandated she not have the weapon or that it be locked up where she couldn’t have gotten to it. Those people don’t have the power as of yet to make that sort of thing happen in Alabama. They may want to, but they don’t, and thus, she was able to defend herself.

I have little doubt that Powers had any interest in using the phone, especially in a day and age when pretty much everyone has a cell phone. No, he was interested in doing something far more nefarious. At the very least, he was likely to steal another car. Instead, thanks to a grandmother, he found himself arrested and in jail.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you make the streets safer.

Not only will Powers not mess with Black, but anyone in the neighborhood who might have been inclined to tangle with the grandmother will think again. She bought herself peace, not just for the day, but for years to come.