DOCUMENT: Crime

Granny's Got A Gun

Septuagenarian Floridian caught packing at Sunshine State airport

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Granny's Got A Gun

NOVEMBER 23--Meet Margaret Anderson. The 79-year-old Florida woman apparently had a unique senior moment today as she tried to board a Bahamas-bound plane at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Anderson, you see, somehow forgot that her carry-on bag contained a single-shot Colt derringer, which was hidden inside a carrying case designed to look like a hardcover book. After airport screeners spotted granny's unloaded gat, Anderson (pictured at right) was booked into the county lockup on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon. While the gun was unloaded, the Colt's case contained seven .22 caliber bullets, according to a Broward County Sheriff's Office report. Below are police evidence photos of the derringer and its carrying case. Released on $1000 bond, the septuagenarian, if convicted, faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $5000 fine. (2 pages)