Queens Granny Opens Fire on Jazzman's Wife

Maria Cartagena proved you don’t have to be young to be armed and dangerous Tuesday when, according to police, the 81-year-old tried to shoot the elderly woman living upstairs. Seventy-three year old Iraida Palmieri, wife of Grammy-winning jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri, says Cartagena confronted her in the elevator saying, “Move over, or I’ll kill you.” Then, she pulled a .38 caliber pistol from her fanny pack and fired.

The shot sailed through Palmieri’s hat, grazing the top of her head, but not seriously injuring her. Cartagena is now in jail, charged with attempted murder, assault, and weapons possession. Cartagena has been complaining that the Palmieris were too loud for years, and neighbors say her attack doesn’t surprise them. “If we heard that somebody in our building did something like that, I’d say, ‘Oh, it must have been her,’” one tells the New York Post . (More elderly stories.)