American cities have been plagued in recent years by a sharp upswing in violent crime, with those in major cities being most at risk.

One example of that came this week when an elderly woman was carjacked while on her way to get cancer treatment. However, the woman's neighbors didn't just stand by and let it happen.

"You’re not taking my car"

According to Washington, D.C.'s ABC 7, the victim, known locally as "Grandma," was attacked by a gun-welding teenager.

DON'T MESS WITH GRANDMA!

"I said, 'baby, you better shoot me, because you’re not taking my car.'”

MPD says a teen tried to carjack a DC grandma on her way to chemotherapy. The teen left the scene in an ambulance and grandma told 7News all about it⬇️https://t.co/zFhgaHFqPo

— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) February 23, 2023

"Next thing I know, he walked up talking about, 'Give me your keys. I got a gun,'" the woman recalled. "I said, 'Baby, you better shoot me, because you’re not taking my car.'"

"He pushed me to the door and I got up and I grabbed him and was hitting his a--, and hitting him and fighting him and I said, 'You not going to take my car, youngin'," she continued.

Residents beat carjacker

The woman said that when she cried out for help, area residents rallied to her defense, explaining, "They all came out to help me."

"They caught him and I said, 'Oh, you going to jail today. You definitely going to jail, yes you are,'" the grandmother said.

The woman noted how the young man was pummeled by the people who confronted him, remarking that "it's a wonder he wasn’t dead."

"On 22nd Street? He must didn’t know where he was. Nobody has seen this boy before," the elderly woman went on to state.

No arrests in most carjackings

ABC 7 noted that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has reported 82 carjackings thus far in 2023 with 63% involving the use of a firearm. However, only 14 of those crimes resulted in an arrest.

Washington, D.C.'s crime problem was in the news earlier this month after Republicans pledged to block a bill that would lessen the punishment for crimes in the nation's capital.

In 2020, Washington DC defunded the police. From that point on, the city government has done nothing but pass laws that have clearly made the city less safe. It's not right, and it must stop. https://t.co/cjYWSnEVKP

— Kevin McCarthy (@SpeakerMcCarthy) February 9, 2023

"A healthy republic has two basic duties: guarantee free and fair elections; and protect life, liberty, and property from violence," McCarthy told lawmakers.

"Yet two new acts from the Washington, D.C. City Council would dilute the vote of American citizens and endanger city residents and visitors," the Republican leader declared.