LAKE WORTH, FL -- Some business women who work in an area hit hard with crime are arming themselves and taking matters into their own hands.
Lake Worth business owner Mayra Ramirez has been practicing at the Palm Beach Shooting Range in Lake Worth for months.
"I was always against guns but from watching the news and seeing so many things happen, I figured it was time to get one," Ramirez said.
Ramirez is arming herself because she's fed up with the crime around her business. A week ago a man was shot just steps away from her storefront.
"At the beginning, firing a gun was terrifying," she said. "When I first started I couldn't stop shaking. "But after your first few times, you look forward to coming in."
A few doors down from Ramierz's store, coffee house owner Marilin Garcia is also arming herself for the first time.
"You can protect yourself just being alert and in case you see danger, it's there for you to use," Garcia said.
Gun shop sales show tens of thousands of Florida women are now carrying a pistol.
"They are looking to protect themselves and keep the criminal at bay," said Jerry McClellan, an employee of the Pam Beach Shooting Range. "They come in here, take a lesson and we start them out with something fun. Then we move them up to something they will carry for self defense."
Ramirez's gun of choice is a 38 special. It's called the pink lady and by the looks of the bullet hole in the target, you can see she's on the mark.
"Don't mess with females," she said.
