[Autolycus]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NY_WHEELCHAIR_SHOOTER_BAOL-?SITE=NYNYD&SECTION=MIDEAST&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Wheelchair-bound NYC woman shoots mugger with licensed gun

NEW YORK (AP) -- Margaret Johnson might have looked like an easy target.

But when a mugger tried to grab a chain off her neck Friday, the wheelchair-bound 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.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

I wonder how she got the permit? I cant believe she wasnt charged? Is there hope for NYC?

[Don't Tread On Me]

This is proof that CCP works. However, NYC hands out licenses to the connected and the rich. So, there's no deterrant effect as there's NO gun culture in NYC. 99% of NY'ers are very ignorant of firearms and get all their knowledge from TV and movies. It is a prevailing belief that firearms are bad or tools of the bad guys, or they are something only police should have.


Now, most NY'ers will not even know this happened, nor will they care. They'll probably relate this to some organized crime conspiracy theory.


The only people who will take notice are the rich elitist leftist liberals. They will make sure to condemn this as unecessary violence - all while they pack guns themselves.


I made the horrible mistake of living there for 5 years in my early 20's - I'm glad I do not live among those primates any longer. It is like a lite-version of 1930's Germany, except white christian conservative males are the enemy.


So, as for your question "Is there hope for NYC"...IMO, NO.

[Double Naught Spy]

I wonder how she got the permit? I cant believe she wasnt charged?

Why would she face charges for a self defense shooting?

99% of NY'ers are very ignorant of firearms ...
...and maybe that is in part due to 99% not being able to get gun permits?

[Chipperman]

Why would she face charges for a self defense shooting?


We're talking about NYC, not Texas.

She was probably only given the permit in the first place b/c she convinced them she could not run away from an attack.

[vito]

Many years ago my father was the treasurer of his union local, when dues were collected in cash on payday. He had to transport the cash to the bank and applied for a gun permit. He was denied, and told that he should just carry the cash in a paper sack and no one would know he had money in it. It was implied to him that for a generous donation to a particular politician that a permit might be forthcoming. He could not afford to make the donation, and would not have done so in any case, so he gave up on the idea of a permit. I believe that he did carry a pistol that he had brought back from WWII as a war souvenier, but he would not admit to it. He is long gone from this earth, but I fear a government that would fear an honest man like my dad just trying to do his job.

[atlctyslkr]

The article says she was on her way to a shooting range so she probably doesn't have the unrestricted permit that most of us in other states take for granted.

[beerslurpy]

I agree with the poster above me, and I'm guessing she has a permit to merely possess a pistol (which allows you to practice with it as well). She probably carries it 24/7, though.

I wonder if she thought of saying she was on the way to the range or if the cops told her to say that. It's a little odd, because I'm sure that you arent allowed to have the gun loaded on the way to the range.

Either way, it's good to see the NYC mugger population being thinned out.

[distortion9]

<sarcasm on> SHOCKING that it wasn't in todays paper here. <sarcasm off>

I am not 100% sure about New York CITY laws but, NY State issues 2 types of licenses and only two. You get licensed BY the State THROUGH the County you live in.

1. Premise (only good in your home/can't be brought to a range)
2. Carry (FULL carry/NOT RESTRICTED BY THE STATE)

"Carry" has a billion sub-categories.

A. Sportsman (target and Hunting)
B. Business
C. Security/employment
Etc.

BY LAW, if you are issued a "carry license", you are LEGALLY LICENSED BY THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO CARRY A CONCEALED WEAPON. The restrictions placed on the license are put there by the COUNTY or TOWNSHIP that you live in and are ADMINISTRATIVE in nature...NOT LAW BINDING.

In short, If she had a "Target/Sportsman" license, she CAN NOT be charged with illegal possesion of a weapon BUT, she can lose her license because she did not adhere to the "restrictions" placed on it (can not carry loaded and concealed in NYC).

The State law in NY is fine, it's the power granted to the counties that is horrific. Depending on "which side of the street that you live on", you have different "RIGHTS" as an American/New Yorker.

[HarryB]

Merged by Xavier:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/09/wheelchair.shooter.ap/index.html

Woman in wheelchair on way to gun practice shoots mugger

NEW YORK (AP) -- Margaret Johnson might have looked like an easy target.

But when a mugger tried to grab a chain off her neck Friday, the wheelchair-bound 56-year-old pulled out her licensed .357 pistol and shot him, police said.

Johnson said she was in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood 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.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think this guy lost some of his street cred!

[Malum Prohibitum]

Surely she did not load it while being mugged?

This may be a case of police officers using common sense discretion not to charge the poor lady.

Wink, wink, ;)

[4v50 Gary]

Instant Kharma is a wonderful thing. First he gets his "reward" from his victim. Next he'll get his punishment from the government. Now, the only thing missing is that he should have gotten away. That way the government wouldn't have to pay for his hospital bill. Furthermore, he would have been caught anyway.

[pendentive]

just read it on cnn...awesome story. best part - no charges.

[panther22]

A woman in NYC has a carry permit? And there's a shooting range? This story would make sense in Texas, but NYC??????

[AirForceShooter]

Bloomberg is going to let her get off?
I don't think so.

AFS

[learn2shoot]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/09/nyregion/09wheelchair.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Perhaps writing a letter to the editor praising this woman, and condeming the restrictive laws of NYC is in order.


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.”

Al Baker contributing reporting.

[XavierBreath]

My wife pointed out that "on her way to a shooting range" is probably liberal journalistic liscense on the part of the writer (or on part of the policemen who wish to protect the lady).

Merging threads.......

[mete]

First NYC has a different set of rules than the rest of the state.Second Bloomberg will probably drive her out of the city ,she's too much of a liability contradicting all of his claims about guns.

[LAR-15]

Her permit will be revoked and she will be sued civily by the perp she shot

[Autolycus]

I dont know if a range permit allows you to carry it loaded. One thing is for sure though, she sounds pretty rich. That maybe a factor.

[Warren]

A .357 to the elbow? Ow-chee wawa!

I do hope it was a full on hit and not a graze. The dude should be crippled when he goes into prison.

[Waitone]

Would it not be rich if the gun was traced back to a SC dealer?:evil:

[Blackfork]

I mean...with targets and everything? That you can take your pistol to and shoot?

She's black. She's crippled. Let's see if that's enough to let her walk on this one. Maybe Bloomberg sent this goon to "sting" her.

She does need a little training. She stopped shooting before her gun was empty.

Seriously, we ought to send this woman some flowers. Margaret Johnson, 470 Lenox, NY, NY.

[dillonuser]

It's too bad she didn't get the bullet to connect wih a couple of spherical items hanging from the groin. That would have made me very happy.

[Joe7cri]

To help clarify for non NY'ers.

NY State will issue any resident a concealed carry permit as long as they pass their background check, The local counties may choose to restrict it if you can't prove a need to carry concealed.

Even if a county restricts the license, you can still carry concealed and loaded to and from a range, and NY has many 24 hr ranges ;)

[crunker]

I wish defensive gun uses happened more often in NYC... too bad that laws make that hard.

[distortion9]

<psssst....Check out post #8 in this thread for a "decent" description of NY gun laws.>

The sad thing about this is that if it were a 30 year old white guy that defended himself, not only would it not get any press but, he would most likely get the book thrown at him.

This is a "cute story". Busted down old lady, big revolver, tables turned on BG. OH and everyone is alive, see how happy:) .

I would like to see "a pro-gun organization" jump all over this and use it as an example of how good guys with guns is a good freaking thing.

[Autolycus]

I agree with Distortion49. I would love to hear the NRA make a big deal out of it. I will be sending them a copy of the story.

I wonder if I shot someone in selfdefense with my loaded gun on the way to the gun range if they would allow me to walk away with no charges? I am a 24 year old hispanic male?

[ProguninTN]

I'm glad this woman was not charged. Fortunately, she did not end up like Bernie Goetz. Now if only NYC would become 'shall-issue'. :rolleyes:

ProguninTN

[gunsmith]

he used to be NYPD.
He tells me that the target license is a de facto
ccw, but they have stopped issuing them much.
He could be wrong though, I'm the gun nut and he hardly ever will carry off duty.

[mete]

Target license used to be - carry gun unloaded in a locked box on the way to the range ! If I go from upstate to Long Island [both areas valid for my permit] I have to drive through NYC and there the gun has to be unloaded and locked in the trunk and I can't stop in NYC !!

[RS2]

Fortunately, she did not end up like Bernie Goetz.


She didn't conduct herself like Bernie Goetz.

[Autolycus]

Here is how she got her permit...

Punk picked wrong gran!

She shoots mugger in Harlem

BY KERRY BURKE, ETHAN SACKS and MICHAEL WHITE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS


Margaret Johnson shot mugger from motorized wheelchair.

A pistol-packing Harlem granny turned the tables on a robber yesterday, busting out her registered .357 magnum and shooting the mugger in the elbow - while riding in her motorized scooter, cops said.
Feisty Margaret Johnson, 57, who has a dislocated hip and a herniated disk, was heading out for target practice about 3 p.m. when a career criminal came up behind her and went for her necklaces, sources said.

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

The thief "walked past her, and came around and choked her," said Johnson's pal, Lynnell Bunce, 40. "He was going for her jewelry, and he got it. He didn't say anything - until she shot him."

Then the man cursed and fled from the scene outside 470 Lenox Ave., where the victim has lived for decades, Bunce said.

"I'm very tired. It was very scary," Johnson said as she later entered her building in her three-wheeled scooter with scratches on her neck and left hand. "I've had a very long day."

Police followed the trail of the wounded man's blood to a McDonald's restaurant not far from Johnson's building and arrested 45-year-old Deron Johnson, an ex-con with nine robbery arrests who is no relation to the victim, sources said.

He was in stable condition at Harlem Hospital last night, and charges were pending against him. The jewelry was recovered, officials said.

Margaret Johnson has a premises permit for the gun, a police source said, meaning she is allowed to keep the pistol in her home and transport it to a firing range.

Bunce said her friend, who has a grown son and at least one grandchild, got the permit when she was a bus driver for the city.

Neighbors said Johnson, a granddaughter of a famed Harlem gangster, the late Ellsworth (Bumpy) Johnson, is a well-known and well-liked woman.

"Everyone loves Margaret," Bunce said. "Margaret is funny. She's like clockwork. She's lived here forever, and she walks her dog four times a day and says hello to everybody."

"She's spunky," said Toi Frederick, 26, a lawyer who lives in the same building. "I wouldn't think she would be someone who would just lay down and give up her stuff."

Bunce said she walked outside after hearing a commotion and saw her friend sitting in her scooter. "I saw her in the chair, and she was in a state of shock. I said, 'Margaret, do you need me?' She said, 'Yes,' and I said, 'Well, Margaret, let's go.' "

The pair went to the 32nd Precinct police station, where Johnson told cops her dramatic story.


With Robert F. Moore and News Wire Service Reports



Originally published on September 9, 2006

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/story/450805p-379460c.html

Interesting. She was related to a gangster.

[hnk45acp]

Technically she broke the law as you are supposed to carry unloaded in a locked case w/ ammo separate. No way she could have unlocked case, loaded a revolver & shot the man that quickly. PD is turning a blind eye to it. However if she wasn't a crippled, black woman in Harlem it may have gone badly for her. I'd like to know which range she was going to as I don't there is one near her. I know people that carry their guns to the range legally and still get hassled by cops on the train so she is definitely getting a pass. Getting so sick of NYC:barf:

[Autolycus]

I am sick of Chicago as well. Alderman can CCw because their lives are in danger due to their job. Or so they say.

[ProguninTN]

She didn't conduct herself like Bernie Goetz.

I guess you have a point. Goetz probably did himself in with his comments to those he shot.

[distortion9]

Bernie Goetz did time for an un-registered gun, not cause of the shooting.

[Autolycus]

Either way Bernie Goetz got screwed in the civil trial accoding to Wikipedia. Somehow this does not seem right.

[BRASSM]

I used to reside in Brooklyn, New York. You can get a CCW there if you a part of the right circle. When you file for a CCW the fee goes directly into the coffers of the 'Policemans Benevolent Society', not the governmenrt. I really don't like the idea of a shakedown. After I left and relocated to North Dakota I was glad that a handgun permit was so easy to obtain. In N. Dak and colorado the fee goes to the Sheriffs department for a background check amd permiting. However the major difference was that in North Dakota there is no reason to carry. In New York City it's a real good idea. There is not 'tough spot' in the city it's all a crime zone. now I reside in Colorado. I have a CCW and even though there is very little street crime where I reside I like the feel of my Browning HP when I'm out at night alone in LoDo. I'd rather lug it around knowing I probably won't need it, then become a statistic.As to talking to liberals about gun control.:banghead: . It's not a waste of my time, however one night one of my female bleeding heart liberal associates did ask me to escort her to her car. And she does know that I practice the martial arts and have a fairly high probability of being armed.

[Master Blaster]

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.

And he has been robbing and drugging ever since he was released at least a couple of crimes per day to feed his habit no doubt, cause thats all he knows how to do as evidenced by his arrest record.

So she and her dog a bichon Frisee were on their way to the range, I wonder what caliber gun the dog shoots, and where do you get those doggy hearing protectors and safety glasses anyway?????:cool:

Still its nice that the police and the DA gave her a pass since she could go to jail for more time than her assailant for shooting him.

[Tim L]

Good for her. I wonder if the investigators have found Mr. Mugger's funny bone yet, maybe the next block over?:evil:

[Drysdale]

You know... before the CCW laws in Texas, I knew a fellow who constantly had targets and eye/ear protectino in his car as an excuse to always have his pistol. He swore if h ever got stopped, his story was that he was headed to the gun range... I wonder how similar this is to Ms. Johnson? :)