INDIANAPOLIS (WISH/CNN) – An Indiana grandmother says she scared away two strangers, who claimed her grandson owed them drug money, by pulling a gun on them.
Jonnie McIntosh says she was terrified Tuesday when she found herself face-to-face with a man and a woman pointing a gun at her.
The two strangers claimed McIntosh’s grandson owed them $20 for drugs.
"My life was flashing before my eyes,” McIntosh said. "They threatened to shoot up the house. 'Somebody's going to pay her her money.'"
McIntosh says she doesn’t allow drugs in her house but knows her grandson sometimes hangs around the wrong crowd.
The grandmother went inside and grabbed her own gun. She returned and pointed it at the strangers.
"You better go, and you better go now,” she told them. "’It don't matter to me. I'll shoot you.’ And I said, ‘Not if I shoot you first.’"
Despite her outward calm, McIntosh was terrified.
"I'm saying to myself, 'God, please, don't let him shoot it,'" she said.
The strangers ran from her doorstep, leaving her holding her gun, something she’s owned for only six weeks.
"I don't like guns, but the violence and the drugs and all this out here…" McIntosh said.
Last year, gun violence took the life of her grandson’s girlfriend and her unborn baby. The incident was part of the reason she bought the gun.
"I got to give in to something I don't want to,” McIntosh said.
The grandmother says all she wants is peace in the streets, but she knows what could happen if someone threatens her with a gun.
“I don't know what else to do other than shoot because 911 can't get here quick enough. I mean, it just takes a split second,” McIntosh said.
McIntosh says she’s working to get a concealed carry license.
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