A would-be jewelry robber was given the shove by a granny from Houston who refused to let the man into her store, despite him pulling a gun on her.
Fearless grandmother-of-five, 78-year-old Judy Memmel, was caught by surprise as the crook lay in wait until the store opened for business.
He then tried to force his way inside the shop but Ms Memmel, who has worked in the jewelry business for 20 years, was having none of it.
She put the man in his place pushing him back out onto the sidewalk and blocked him from walking inside.
Judy Memmel, 78, was caught on camera as a man pulled out a gun on her as he tried to rob a jewelry store
Memmel can be seen in the door way fighting back despite the would-be robber pointing a gun
The grandmother-of-five showed remarkable bravery as she stopped the gunman
‘When he came up to the door and I looked at him, I said, “We’re not open,” Memmel said to Click2Houston. The man pulled out his gun and fired three times. ‘I shoved him and said, “No! You’re not coming in!”‘
“The guy came up to the door and shoves it this way, and I take my hands and push him back, and he fires the gun three times… pop, pop, pop!’ she said describing the moment.
‘Some women panic, scream, yell, I don’t do that… I get mad,’ she said to KHOU.
The entire drama was all caught on camera. Surveillance video clearly shows the gunman attempting to walk inside before pulling out a gun.
The brave grandma can then be seen shoving the man who pulled out his gun firing three times.
The robber was caught on camera clearly waiting for employees to arrive
More than 80 CCTV cameras are positions in and around the school to provide security
The would-be robber planned virtually everything and had a getaway driver waiting outside
Incredibly, Memmel managed to keep her cool and set about locking the door and walked away.
‘I was mad and I wasn’t going to let him in,’ Memmel said. ‘To me, that was the thing to do: give him a shove.’
After reviewing CCTV footage of the incident and the surrounding area captured on some 80 cameras positioned around the store, Houston police were able to see a tall, black man wearing a suit on camera arriving close to the store some two hours before it opened.
He was wearing a coat and tie, covering his eyes with sunglasses and holding a briefcase and a gun as he lay in wait around the corner from the front door.
Just as the three employees make it inside, the man pushes the door open, Memmel pushes back, and he starts shooting
Judy went straight back to work the following day realizing how lucky she had been
In what seemed liked a well-planned heist, he had a getaway driver parked nearby.
Finally, as opening time drew near, three Houston Jewelry employees unlocked the security gate, walked inside, and disarmed the security alarm.
The gunman hastily followed the trio seconds later.
But as thorough as his planning was, the man was not expecting to encounter Ms Memmel who decided she wasn’t going to let the man get away with anything at all.
Fellow employee, Kathye Parker, a grandmother of three who has worked for the jewelry store for three years, was standing right next to Memmel when the shots were fired and she made a run for it.
The shots grazed a jewelry case and the ceiling, but no one was hurt.
‘I was determined to hit the panic button or at least call 911,’ Parker said. ‘After it’s over with, you kinda get jelly legs, because you realize it could have turned out a lot worse.’