Phoenix, AZ — A 14-year-old boy stopped a wannabe burglar in his tracks, critically injuring the man as he brandished a gun at the teen and his three siblings Friday afternoon.
According to police, the boy and his siblings, ages 8, 10 and 12, were home alone when a strange woman rang the doorbell that afternoon. The teen later told police he didn’t answer the door because he didn’t recognize the woman.
A short time later, the teen heard someone banging on the door. He gathered his siblings and rushed them upstairs, stopping to retrieve a handgun from his parent’s bedroom.
As the boy stood at the top of the stairs, he saw a man break through the front door and aim a gun at him. Before the intruder could get a shot off the kid fired, effectively altering the intruder’s plans.
Police say the unidentified 37-year-old man was transported to the hospital in extremely critical condition. He has since been upgraded to critical condition and is expected to survive. Upon his release, he will be booked into jail on charges of aggravated assault and burglary.
Phoenix Police Officer James Holmes hailed the teen’s actions and his parents for teaching the kids to never open the door to strangers.
“The police and indeed our community does not ever want to see a situation where a teenager of that age has to take a weapon to protect his family … but this young man did exactly what he should have done,” Holmes said. “I’m not sure he gave full thought about what he had to do. He just acted.”
The teen’s parents have declined to talk to the press at this time, saying that they “are all pretty traumatized.”
“The dad was pretty much out of his mind with distress, officers couldn’t even talk to him,” Holmes said. “It’s going to take them a while to recover mentally.”
It has been reported that the gun the kid used belonged to his father, but it is unclear at this time whether he had actually been trained to use it.
The woman who rang the home’s doorbell apparently beat feet at the first sign of trouble and is presumably still on the loose.
Tags: aggravated assault, Arizona, Burglary, Home Invasion, Shooting


























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