Gun-Toting Grandma, 79, Fends Off 20-Year-Old Burglar

As the burglar broke through another door and began looting the second floor of the home, the 79-year-old woman’s fear turned to rage.

February 21, 2019

Hans Rogers [Jackson County Sheriff's Office]

By: Catherine Townsend

A 911 call reveals the terrifying moments when a 79-year-old woman shot a burglar who was trying to break into her Georgia home.

In the nine minute call from Feb. 12, provided to ABC News by Jackson County Emergency Services officials in Georgia, the woman tells the 911 dispatcher that she believes intruders are at her back door.

"They’re trying to get in the back door. Hurry. Hurry. Please," she can be heard saying. The woman tells the dispatcher that she's in the kitchen. At the time, she believed that there were two robbers. "I’m watching the door that they were trying to get in. Ooh, they’re breaking glass,” she says. Then she shouts: "Okay, come on! I got something for you!" Then a gunshot rings out.

During the terrifying 10-minute ordeal, the woman stayed on the phone with the dispatcher while the suspect broke into another part of the house. Police arrested the suspect, later identified as 20-year-old Hans Rogers. He is being held in the Jackson County Jail without bond and has been charged with felony first degree burglary and felony home invasion as well as misdemeanor criminal trespass.

The woman alternated from screaming at the intruder to whispering to the 911 dispatcher – and telling her that she was scared and wanted to pray. "I’m just scared, Ma’am ... Please hurry. Please hurry," she pleads. "Please, please dear God. Lord have mercy ... please…"

As the burglar broke through another door and began looting the second floor of the home, the 79-year-old woman’s fear turned to rage. "I'm waitin' on ya', come on!" she shouts from downstairs. "When you come down those stairs I’m gonna blow your damn brains out!" She then fired her pistol again toward the second floor of the house.

The woman’s daughter told WXIA that the intruder hid in an upstairs closet, and said that her mother did not want to hurt the robber – she just wanted him to leave her home. “He made the comment to my mother, you know, 'B****, you’re trying to kill me,' because, you know, she was shooting at him.” "She didn’t allow herself to become a victim," she told the news station. "My mother’s a very strong woman. I know where I get my strength from, now. As a matter of fact, I think she’s a little stronger."

She said police told them that the suspect has a history of medical issues, and added that she hopes that the suspect gets the medical help that he needs.