A cap assembly mountable to a rigid shield around a needle of a syringe, said cap assembly comprising: a gripper component for directly engaging the rigid shield; and a base cap grippable by a user and comprising a body, said body including a surface defining a cavity for accommodating said gripper component; characterized by: said gripper component including a support frame and a liner, said support frame defining an interior hollow, said liner secured to said support frame within said interior hollow to provide a gripping section that defines a bore sized to axially receive the rigid shield, said liner formed of a material that is resilient relative to a material forming said support frame and is deformable when sandwiched between said support frame and the rigid shield; said support frame comprising a base section (42, 44) and a plurality of resilient flanges (50, 52) integrally formed with and extending from said base section, said plurality of flanges in a neutral state splaying radially outward from said base section; and said body surface being sized and shaped to bend or cam inward said plurality of resilient flanges to compress said gripper component from a first arrangement to a second arrangement when said gripper component inserts within said cavity during manufacture, wherein said liner, when said gripper component is disposed in said first arrangement, does not grip for shield removal purposes the rigid shield when disposed in said bore, and wherein said liner, when said gripper component is disposed in said second arrangement with the rigid shield disposed in said bore in any rotational orientation relative thereto, is held by the support frame so as to be deformed against and grip the rigid shield for shield removal purposes so as to allow for removal of the rigid shield from around the needle. a gripper component for directly engaging the rigid shield; and a base cap grippable by a user and comprising a body, said body including a surface defining a cavity for accommodating said gripper component; characterized by: said gripper component including a support frame and a liner, said support frame defining an interior hollow, said liner secured to said support frame within said interior hollow to provide a gripping section that defines a bore sized to axially receive the rigid shield, said liner formed of a material that is resilient relative to a material forming said support frame and is deformable when sandwiched between said support frame and the rigid shield; said support frame comprising a base section (42, 44) and a plurality of resilient flanges (50, 52) integrally formed with and extending from said base section, said plurality of flanges in a neutral state splaying radially outward from said base section; and said body surface being sized and shaped to bend or cam inward said plurality of resilient flanges to compress said gripper component from a first arrangement to a second arrangement when said gripper component inserts within said cavity during manufacture, wherein said liner, when said gripper component is disposed in said first arrangement, does not grip for shield removal purposes the rigid shield when disposed in said bore, and wherein said liner, when said gripper component is disposed in said second arrangement with the rigid shield disposed in said bore in any rotational orientation relative thereto, is held by the support frame so as to be deformed against and grip the rigid shield for shield removal purposes so as to allow for removal of the rigid shield from around the needle. said gripper component including a support frame and a liner, said support frame defining an interior hollow, said liner secured to said support frame within said interior hollow to provide a gripping section that defines a bore sized to axially receive the rigid shield, said liner formed of a material that is resilient relative to a material forming said support frame and is deformable when sandwiched between said support frame and the rigid shield; said support frame comprising a base section (42, 44) and a plurality of resilient flanges (50, 52) integrally formed with and extending from said base section, said plurality of flanges in a neutral state splaying radially outward from said base section; and said body surface being sized and shaped to bend or cam inward said plurality of resilient flanges to compress said gripper component from a first arrangement to a second arrangement when said gripper component inserts within said cavity during manufacture, wherein said liner, when said gripper component is disposed in said first arrangement, does not grip for shield removal purposes the rigid shield when disposed in said bore, and wherein said liner, when said gripper component is disposed in said second arrangement with the rigid shield disposed in said bore in any rotational orientation relative thereto, is held by the support frame so as to be deformed against and grip the rigid shield for shield removal purposes so as to allow for removal of the rigid shield from around the needle.