An Albuquerque grandmother was at home with her 4-year-old granddaughter watching Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour on Disney Plus when tragedy struck.
According to KRQE, while watching the concert, the grandmother, Anissa Tinnin and her granddaughter were faced with a man who had broke into her home. What Anissa didn’t know at the time was the man was a criminal already running from the police.
As KRQE reports, Anissa was initially oblivious to “the chaos unfolding” down the road from her home. Police had spotted Joseph Rivera in a stolen car when they used spike strips to slow down the vehicle.
However, when the truck crashed, Rivera took off on foot and ended up at Anissa’s house.
While grabbing Anissa and threatening her and her granddaughter, Rivera also demanded that Anissa give him her keys to her car. Anissa tried to keep herself and Rivera calm while directing him toward the keys to her car.
Anissa had also managed to secretly dial 911.
While leaving the line open, Rivera grabs a nearby key fob and leaves the home. But that wouldn’t be the last time Anissa comes face to face with Rivera.
After Rivera leaves, Anissa tries to quickly explain what happened to the 911 dispatcher while also getting her granddaughter to safety by putting her in a bedroom with the door closed.
You can hear the child in the background audibly terrified about what was happening. That’s when Anissa grabbed her gun for protection.
The grandmother checked her security cameras to see if Rivera had left with her car, he didn’t. And after hearing police sirens nearby, he went back into Anissa’s home.
The 911 call recorded their second interaction with each other.
Anissa was in the hallway of her home when Rivera kicked in the door. Rivera started coming at Anissa when she warned him that she had a gun.
“Get back. Get back. I have a gun. Get back. Get back,” you can hear Anissa telling Rivera.
Anissa said she was the only thing between Rivera and her granddaughter and pulled the trigger. Rivera grunted asking Anissa why she shot him.
“Because you’re in my house.”
And that’s when reality set in for Anissa. “God, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” she can be heard telling Rivera as she helped him by applying pressure to the gunshot wound.
“God, this is not happening,” Anissa can be heard saying on the call. “Where are the police?”
Moments later the authorities arrive and carry Rivera out of the home.
“I do believe we had a guardian angel with us,” Anissa told KRQE. “I firmly believe God was watching over us.”
Unfortunately, that terrifying night has left Anissa’s granddaughter with emotional scars. Her mom, Megan, tells KRQE that she’s now afraid of the dark, she won’t walk down dark hallways by herself, and is now always making sure the doors are locked and the alarm is on.
“I’m so proud of Anissa,” Megan said of her daughter’s grandmother. “It couldn’t have played out better given the circumstances. It could have been a lot worse.”
Now Anissa says she wants Rivera, who has five prior felony convictions, punished to the fullest extent and does not want the DA to offer him a plea deal. “He deserves to be in jail.”
“When you’re faced with a decision of protecting your family, you do what you have to do,” the grandmother said.
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