South Side woman foils intruders, laments disrespectful youth

YOUNGSTOWN

A South Side woman, who foiled two potential home invaders this morning by calling 911 and firing one shot from her handgun, said she plans to remain in her home and would use the gun again if she has to.

Phyllis Brown, who resides in the 2700 block of Cain Street, said she heard a slamming noise while she was in the bathroom, then opened the front door and saw two young men on her porch, one of them pointing a handgun at her.

She slammed the door, fled to her bedroom, got her handgun, called 911, opened the kitchen window and fired one shot into the ground, she recalled.

The men fled as police arrived, she said.

“I just thank God that nobody got hurt,” Brown said in a highly emotional interview in her home an hour after the confrontation. “It’s the first time I ever fired that gun,” she added.

“I worked hard for what I’ve got. ... I’m going to protect myself,” she vowed.

“It’s just sad the way these young people want to take what you worked for,” she observed.

Read more of her story in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.