Cane-Wielding Great-Grandmother Chases Off Thug, Saves Neighbor from Violent Purse-Snatching

 A feisty great-grandmother in Oakland, California, came out swinging when she saw a neighbor being attacked in broad daylight by a purse snatcher on Oct. 12.

The 76-year-old, identified only as “Miss Faye,” told San Francisco TV station KGO-TV that she saw a young man stop his car and try to grab the purse of a neighbor, who she said is also in her late 70s.

The victim was knocked to the ground, but her assailant continued trying to violently yank the woman’s purse out of her grasp.

That prompted Miss Faye to jump into action. She rushed out her front gate, yelling for her dog, Troy, while brandishing her cane.

As Miss Faye approached, the would-be thief abandoned his efforts at snatching the purse and jumped back into his car. 

He stepped on the gas and zoomed away, just as Miss Faye drew back and flung her cane at the departing vehicle.

Her Ring doorbell captured the action.

She didn’t stop to think about her own safety during the confrontation, but that’s typical for Miss Faye, who admitted to KGO’s Dion Lim that she can be a bit impulsive.

“I never thought about it. Fear never crossed my mind, because I’m crazy, I guess,” she said, laughing.

“I don’t know. It’s just something that’s in my nature. I do things, and it doesn’t bother me until maybe a couple of hours later. That’s how I’ve always been.”

Miss Faye’s neighbors cheered her victory over the bad guy, dubbing her a hero and bringing her pies and other treats.

Faye told KGO the purse-snatching victim suffered some bruising but is otherwise OK.

Her philosophy, she told KGO’s Lim, is to “just try to be neighborly. Help watch out for your neighbors and watch out for the surroundings, even for your personal self, because so many things have been happening lately, not just in Oakland but all over the world. And just be aware of your surroundings.”

Political commentator Steven Crowder’s Louder With Crowder featured the KGO story about Miss Faye this week. “I’m going to mind my language and not refer to Miss Faye as a bad [expletive],” writer Brodigan said. “Out of respect, and also out of fear she would whack me with her cane for using the Lord’s name in vain.”

He said the woman deserves all the praise she’s received.

“God bless you, Miss Faye,” Brodigan said. “For the rest of your life, they better make sure you are sitting front row at Bingo and get escorted to the front of the line at every church pancake breakfast.”