{"id":6688,"date":"2026-08-16T12:07:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T12:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688"},"modified":"2026-08-16T12:07:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T12:07:07","slug":"gun-toting-granny-chases-off-shoplifting-suspect-i-want-to-shake-her-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688","title":{"rendered":"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: ‘I want to shake her hand’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

She\u2019s got a gun, a grandma vibe \u2014 and the internet is absolutely loving it.<\/p>\n

A gun-toting Arizona grandmother who confronted an alleged shoplifter outside a Tucson Ross has been transformed into a social-media sensation, with users dubbing her the \u201cBased Grandma\u201d and \u201cBad\u2014 Granny\u201d and cheering her apparent attempt to stop the theft.<\/p>\n

Read more We should all join ex-teacher Darius Williams in crying at the failures of America\u2019s schools<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWho is she? I want to shake her hand,\u201d one admirer wrote.<\/p>\n

The bizarre confrontation unfolded in early August outside a Ross Dress for Less on Tucson\u2019s Eastside, where the suspected thief allegedly walked out carrying a veritable luggage haul, a matching stack of suitcases, multiple backpacks and purses.<\/p>\n

It looked less like a quick shoplifting grab and more like someone preparing to sprint for the airport.<\/p>\n

As the suspect slowly made his way across the parking lot, the armed woman confronted him and pointed what appeared to be a handgun in his direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need more brave citizens like this!\u201d another declared.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet him granny!!!\u201d a third cheered.<\/p>\n

Despite the blaring store alarm and the apparent gun pointed at him, the suspect calmly strolled through the parking lot, even carrying on a remarkably casual conversation with the armed woman before the two ultimately went their separate ways.<\/p>\n

The footage quickly went viral, and the internet picked its side.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have had enough, don\u2019t tempt us older folks over 50 well f\u2013 you up!\u201d one commenter wrote.<\/p>\n

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

California Post News<\/strong>: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports<\/strong> Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post <\/strong>Opinion
California Post Newsletters<\/strong>: Sign up here!
California Post App<\/strong>: Download here!
Home delivery<\/strong>: Sign up here!
Page Six Hollywood<\/strong>: Sign up here!<\/p>\n

Read more California AG\u2019s block of Paramount-Warner Bros. merger could chase away key source of funds for Dems<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tucson police, meanwhile, are investigating the confrontation as a shoplifting case and are using the social-media video as evidence.<\/p>\n

Officers responded but were unable to locate the suspect. <\/p>\n

No arrests have been made.<\/p>\n

Police are asking anyone with information to come forward.<\/p>\n

This viral moment does come with a legal warning.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Tucson criminal defense attorney Louis Fidel said there are circumstances under which a person can display or use a firearm to prevent certain crimes, but shoplifting isn\u2019t one of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt really depends on the details, but there is a statute that authorizes people to display or use a firearm to prevent certain crimes,\u201d Fidel told KOLD News 13. \u201cShoplifting is not one of those crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fidel warned that pointing a firearm during the confrontation could potentially result in an aggravated-assault charge involving a deadly weapon.<\/p>\n

Still, the online jury has already delivered its verdict on the mystery grandmother.<\/p>\n

Read more Glenn Youngkin: Dem governors across the country get a failing grade for standing in the way of education freedom<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRoss Dress for Less needs to put her on the payroll immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A gun-toting grandmother dubbed \u201cBased Grandma\u201d went viral after confronting an alleged shoplifter outside a Tucson Ross. Police are investigating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nGun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: 'I want to shake her hand' - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: 'I want to shake her hand' - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A gun-toting grandmother dubbed \u201cBased Grandma\u201d went viral after confronting an alleged shoplifter outside a Tucson Ross. Police are investigating.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-16T12:07:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: ‘I want to shake her hand’\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-16T12:07:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688\"},\"wordCount\":521,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/402c9f6b8c933131c6bf6ca91bf3d722.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Metro\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688\",\"name\":\"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: 'I want to shake her hand' - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/402c9f6b8c933131c6bf6ca91bf3d722.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-16T12:07:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/402c9f6b8c933131c6bf6ca91bf3d722.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/402c9f6b8c933131c6bf6ca91bf3d722.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=6688#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: ‘I want to shake her hand’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: 'I want to shake her hand' - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: 'I want to shake her hand' - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"A gun-toting grandmother dubbed \u201cBased Grandma\u201d went viral after confronting an alleged shoplifter outside a Tucson Ross. Police are investigating.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-08-16T12:07:07+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: ‘I want to shake her hand’","datePublished":"2026-08-16T12:07:07+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688"},"wordCount":521,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/402c9f6b8c933131c6bf6ca91bf3d722.webp","articleSection":["Metro"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688","name":"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: 'I want to shake her hand' - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/402c9f6b8c933131c6bf6ca91bf3d722.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-16T12:07:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/402c9f6b8c933131c6bf6ca91bf3d722.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/402c9f6b8c933131c6bf6ca91bf3d722.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6688#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Gun-toting granny chases off shoplifting suspect: ‘I want to shake her hand’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6688"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6688\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}