A grandmother's gun

By Breda of The Breda Fallacy

Too often I am saddened by stories of women who fall victim to predators and I am left thinking, "If only..." If only they hadn't walked home alone, if only they hadn't trusted the wrong man...if only they'd had a gun so they could have fought back and won. Grim statistics and grisly forensics are often all that's left of what was once a bright future or a beautiful smile.

Of course, some stories have happy endings. Meet Annebelle.

Once a vivacious young vaudeville performer, by 1972 Annebelle was a widowed grandmother suffering from arthritis. The Detroit neighborhood she lived in was sadly becoming plagued by burglars, muggers, and other criminals. Break-ins were attempted weekly. Despite all this, Annebelle was determined to stay in the home that she had lived in for 30 years.

Annebelle knew that as an elderly woman she was vulnerable and that predators might see her as easy prey. It upset her to be afraid. Deciding that her life and her home were worth defending, she bought herself a Smith & Wesson revolver.

On the night of Friday, May 5, 1972, Annebelle looked out her window and saw a prowler in her back yard. He didn't run away when she turned on the outside light. Annebelle called the police and went for her gun.

By the time she got back, the man had broken through the glass and was reaching inside to unlock the door.

Fearing for her life, Annebelle aimed her pistol, steadying it in her arthritic hands, closed her eyes and pulled the trigger. The intruder was killed instantly by a single shot to the head.

Annebelle, refusing to be a victim, lived to see another day.

My thanks to Ron, a reader from New York, for allowing me to tell his grandmother's story and for sharing these wonderful photos.

It has been an honor.

Breda is a reference librarian and artist who writes at The Breda Fallacy.