NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An 88-year-old woman is accused of shooting a man she says was trying to steal from her liquor store.
Her name is May Boyce and she's free on a $10,000 bond, Nashville police said.
Boyce wants criminals to know she's "fed up and not taking it anymore" after her store had been robbed more than once in the past, according to the New York Post.
The New York Post said Boyce told them on the night of the shooting, two men entered her store and tried to steal alcohol. She said one of the men walked up to her "in a manner that she knew" meant he was going to steal from her. Another one of the men walked back where the vodka was, according to The New York Post.
She said that's when she grabbed her late mother's .38 Smith & Wesson snub nose revolver and put it on the counter.
The New York Post said one of the men asked her for a brown paper bag and the other grabbed a few whiskey bottles. When Boyce confronted the man with the bottles he "lunged" at her, according to The New York Post.
Boyce said the man was going to try and push her down before heading out the door with the bottles under his arm.
“I did what I had to do,” she told The New York Post. “After you’ve been played for a fool by people stealin’ from you for years, you get fed up. And don’t put me in the category of a little old lady. I know how to take care of myself.”
Boyce said she didn't really mean to hit the man when she fired the gun, she just wanted to shoot at the floor and scare him. But, she said she had never shot a gun before.
Nashville police said the man who was shot is recovering.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the woman's bond was $100,000. It was $10,000. This story has been updated.
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