When a teenage would-be carjacker approached a Washington, D.C. grandma, he was about to get a lesson he wouldn’t forget—and it ended with him in the hospital.
This incident started when the 15-year-old tried to carjack an elderly woman, lovingly known as “Grandma” by her neighbors. To add a bit more grit to the story, Grandma was on her way to receive chemotherapy, battling cancer, when this brazen teen decided he’d take her car. Talk about lousy timing.
It was around 8:30 in the morning on 22nd Street Southeast when the young suspect made his move. He claimed to have a gun and demanded Grandma’s keys, thinking his bluff would do the trick. But, like most wise folks who’ve been around long enough, Grandma wasn’t about to be intimidated. “He walked up talking about, ‘Give me your keys, I got a gun,’” she told reporters. But Grandma just looked at him and said, “Baby, you better shoot me because you’re not taking my car.” A classic grandma move.
Yet, despite the warning, this teenager still thought he’d be able to strong-arm her. So, he tried to get physical. Not the best decision. Grandma got up, grabbed him, and started hitting back, saying, “You’re not going to take my car, youngin’.” With neighbors within earshot, her screams for help quickly brought reinforcements. Neighbors rushed out, and when the teen realized he’d underestimated his target, he tried to make a run for it. But luck wasn’t on his side. The neighbors caught up with him in no time.
“They caught him, and I said, ‘Oh, you’re going to jail today. You definitely going to jail,’” Grandma recounted. Jail, however, wasn’t the only stop on his itinerary. The kid left the scene in an ambulance, on his way to the hospital. According to the police, he sustained injuries thanks to Grandma’s family members who stepped in. Oh, and as it turned out, that “gun” he claimed to have was fake.
“Next thing I know, he walked up talking about, ‘give me your keys, I got a gun.’ I said, ‘baby, you better shoot me, because you’re not taking my car.”
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Once released from the hospital, the young carjacker was promptly headed to lockup. Grandma wasn’t pulling any punches in her commentary, either. “[They] said it’s a wonder he wasn’t dead,” she said. “On 22nd Street? He must not have known where he was. Nobody’s seen this boy before.” It’s safe to say her neighborhood is tight-knit and quick to rally around its own.
While Grandma escaped with only a minor scar on her hand, others haven’t been so lucky. Crime, especially carjacking by teens, has been on the rise in Washington, D.C., and neighboring Prince George’s County. In fact, juveniles were behind a staggering 60% of the area’s carjackings over the two years leading up to this incident. But the growing numbers have raised a tough question: Should more teens face time behind bars for their crimes?
Some argue that stricter juvenile penalties might serve as a deterrent. But maybe the real issue starts at home. Instead of waiting for the justice system to intervene, maybe it’s time for parents to step up and teach their kids some hard truths before they hit the streets looking for trouble. Because if they don’t, they might just end up facing someone like Grandma, who’s more than willing to take matters into her own hands—fake gun or not.
