Three men decided to approach a woman who was alone returning home from work. Little did they know she had a surprise for them that they never saw coming.
A woman was approached by three men as she returned home from work around 1 a.m. Friday. The men tried to rob her, but the woman fought back.
“I just heard them saying ‘Shut up, be quiet, don’t say anything’ and the one here had a weapon,” said the victim, Crystal.
Fearing for her life she reached for her own protection, her gun.
“I always come home late at night, but since I went to the grocery store last night, it was even later,” she said. “He is the one that grabbed at me and when he did, I just reached and turned around and shot and they ran.”
One of Crystal’s bullets struck one of her three attackers.
Her father wanted his only daughter to be licensed to carry so she could protect herself. “Honestly, I mostly carry it because my dad wanted me to. Now I’m glad I listened,” Crystal said.
Metro police located and arrested robbery suspect 18-year-old Deon Smith who suffered a gunshot wound to his shoulder. The other men reportedly escaped through a hole in a fence.
“I never thought anything like this in my life would happen,” Crystal said.
Although a little shaken up, she hopes her willingness to protect herself sends a strong message to other women about staying alert and defending themselves.
“Learn how to protect yourself if you don’t know how. Be more aware. I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings at all,” Crystal said.
Police are still looking for the two other suspects. Police found items in the suspects’ SUV that match a robbery from earlier in the night at an apartment complex on Watergate Way where a woman was attacked. In that case, police say suspects hit a woman in the head with the handle of a gun and robbed her.