PHOENIX -- A 14-year-old boy shot and nearly killed an intruder who broke into his Phoenix home and pulled a gun on him while he was watching his three younger siblings, police said Saturday.
The teen and his siblings, ages 8, 10 and 12, were at home alone when a woman rang the doorbell Friday afternoon, Phoenix police Officer James Holmes said.
The teen didn’t open the door because he didn’t recognize the woman.
Soon after, the teen heard a loud bang on the door, rushed his siblings upstairs and got a handgun from his parent’s bedroom.
When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw a man break through the front door and point a gun at him.
The boy shot the 37-year-old man, who was taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition and underwent surgery. The man was upgraded to critical condition and is expected to survive and be booked into jail within the week on counts of aggravated assault and burglary, Holmes said.
He said the suspect did not get a shot off. He declined to release his name until he is booked into jail.
The woman who rang the home’s doorbell got away.
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," he said. "I’m not sure he gave full thought about what he had to do. He just acted."
Holmes said that the gun the teen grabbed was his father’s, but did not know whether the boy had been trained to use it.
He said the family, whose names were not released, is declining to speak to reporters about the ordeal, 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."
He said police don’t yet know what the suspect’s intentions were and that will be one of the first questions they ask him when he is well enough to talk.
"This was mid-block in a neighborhood, at 4:30 in the afternoon in summertime and children are there," he said. "They just took a heck of a gamble for this particular house, and we’ve got to try to figure out why."
Holmes added that the family is lucky that the teen acted so swiftly and effectively.
"As ugly as this is, and as much as this family is going through, we don’t have injured children on our hands," he said.
ONE of my wife's friends read about this and said, "that the father should be arrested for allowing a minor for having access to a firearm"
I looked at her and asked "so you would prefer that some armed robber robbed, broke into a home, kicked in the door to the house and perhaps killed three or four kids , rather than properly train your kids in the proper and safe use of a firearm?
Owning a firearms a lot like owning a fire extinguisher, you buy one or several hoping youll never use them in an emergency , but knowing that not having one could easily cost you all your possessions or you life or families lives
Ive always felt that the more kids that are trained how to safely use a firearm and both when and if they should use a firearm, at a reasonably early age and trained to understand the fact that they are responsible for their actions. the fewer accidents and the less profitable and enticing theft and robbery will be to the scum that assume they can steal for a living.
by age 10 both my sons had several years experience with recreational shooting safe firearms handling , both had passed hunter safety courses, and later both had concealed weapon permits at the first legal moment it was available.
everyone in my home knows where dad keeps his 12 ga and theres never been any desire to play with firearms , because they get to go simply by asking any time.
they also know that no one outside the family touches any firearm, in our home!
The teen and his siblings, ages 8, 10 and 12, were at home alone when a woman rang the doorbell Friday afternoon, Phoenix police Officer James Holmes said.
The teen didn’t open the door because he didn’t recognize the woman.
Soon after, the teen heard a loud bang on the door, rushed his siblings upstairs and got a handgun from his parent’s bedroom.
When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw a man break through the front door and point a gun at him.
The boy shot the 37-year-old man, who was taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition and underwent surgery. The man was upgraded to critical condition and is expected to survive and be booked into jail within the week on counts of aggravated assault and burglary, Holmes said.
He said the suspect did not get a shot off. He declined to release his name until he is booked into jail.
The woman who rang the home’s doorbell got away.
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," he said. "I’m not sure he gave full thought about what he had to do. He just acted."
Holmes said that the gun the teen grabbed was his father’s, but did not know whether the boy had been trained to use it.
He said the family, whose names were not released, is declining to speak to reporters about the ordeal, 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."
He said police don’t yet know what the suspect’s intentions were and that will be one of the first questions they ask him when he is well enough to talk.
"This was mid-block in a neighborhood, at 4:30 in the afternoon in summertime and children are there," he said. "They just took a heck of a gamble for this particular house, and we’ve got to try to figure out why."
Holmes added that the family is lucky that the teen acted so swiftly and effectively.
"As ugly as this is, and as much as this family is going through, we don’t have injured children on our hands," he said.
ONE of my wife's friends read about this and said, "that the father should be arrested for allowing a minor for having access to a firearm"
I looked at her and asked "so you would prefer that some armed robber robbed, broke into a home, kicked in the door to the house and perhaps killed three or four kids , rather than properly train your kids in the proper and safe use of a firearm?
Owning a firearms a lot like owning a fire extinguisher, you buy one or several hoping youll never use them in an emergency , but knowing that not having one could easily cost you all your possessions or you life or families lives
Ive always felt that the more kids that are trained how to safely use a firearm and both when and if they should use a firearm, at a reasonably early age and trained to understand the fact that they are responsible for their actions. the fewer accidents and the less profitable and enticing theft and robbery will be to the scum that assume they can steal for a living.
by age 10 both my sons had several years experience with recreational shooting safe firearms handling , both had passed hunter safety courses, and later both had concealed weapon permits at the first legal moment it was available.
everyone in my home knows where dad keeps his 12 ga and theres never been any desire to play with firearms , because they get to go simply by asking any time.
they also know that no one outside the family touches any firearm, in our home!