Police say no charges will be filed against a 68-year-old woman who shot a 12-year-old boy after he and a 13-year-old friend broke the windows of her
South Shore neighborhood home, then shouted obscenities and threw bricks at her.
The boys, however, have been charged as juveniles with aggravated assault of a person over the age of 60 and have been released to their parents, police said.
Police said the woman, who lives alone, acted in self-defense -- a belief shared by neighbors who said the woman known as "Miss Margaret" had been harassed by the boys before and had called police to no avail.
"She talked to me on Friday," Frenchie Johnson told reporters. "She said, 'Frenchie I've done had enough.' They set the garbage can on fire, her barbecue pit, this isn't the first time they busted a window. It's bad."
Late Tuesday afternoon, the woman returned to her home in the 7600 block of South Coles Avenue from grocery shopping and noticed all the windows broken, according to police. The woman then saw two boys running away.
The woman called police and was putting away her groceries when the boys showed up again, authorities said.
The woman walked out onto the porch and the boys began shouting obscenities and throwing bricks at her, authorities said. The woman then pulled out a gun and opened fire, striking one of the boys in the shoulder, authorities said.
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