‘I would do it again’: 13-year-old sniper brother proudly shows off the slingshot he used to save his eight-year-old sister from being kidnapped by a man ‘with a black mohawk’
- The heroic 13-year-old showed off his weapon of choice during a Good Morning America appearance on Thursday
- The teenager said that if the scary situation happened again, he would not hesitate to deploy his sling a second time.
- Police say the 17-year-old intended to severely beat the 8-year-old girl
A 13-year-old boy who saved his eight-year-old sister from being kidnapped by quickly deploying his sling has spoken out to describe the harrowing ordeal – and said he would do it again to protect her.
His sister was looking for mushrooms in her garden in Alpena, Michigan when a man came out of the woods.
The victim’s uncle posted on Facebook that the 17-year-old suspect had a ‘black mohawk’ on and covered the girl’s mouth, then tried to drag her away.
His 13-year-old brother saw the scuffle from his bedroom inside the family home and quickly sprang into action, grabbing his sling and firing objects at the would-be kidnapper’s head and chest.
The 13-year-old who fended off his sister’s kidnapper shows off the slingshot he used to do it
The teenager sat between his parents and explained how he reacted when he spotted a man trying to kidnap his sister behind their house.
During a Thursday morning appearance on Good Morning America, the 13-year-old showed off the slingshot he used to defend his sister.
Several times he re-enacted the movement of the sling deployment.
He described seeing the suspect attempt to kidnap his sister and seeing his sister attempt to fight back.
He said his first instinct was to spring into action and, using the slingshot, throw a rock and then a marble at the suspect.
‘He was mad. He started to swear. I hit him again, he starts to flee,” said the teenager, who showed off his weapon of choice, before concluding: “If it happens again, I’ll do it again.”
Lt. John Grimshaw, local post commander of the Michigan State Troopers, said the teenager’s quick action and precise aiming “made him (the kidnapper) let go”.
“The girl was able to struggle and run away and he fired another one, punched the suspect in the chest and then ran away,” he told 9 and 10 News.
Grimshaw said the suspect admitted his intention was to severely beat the eight-year-old girl after kidnapping her.
The suspect, who also has not been identified due to his age, ran away from the two children and attempted to hide before authorities located him at a nearby gas station.
The victim’s brother was credited for his heroism and for helping police identify the suspect.
“What he did also helped us identify who the suspect was, as he was obviously injured after being hit by a slingshot,” Grimshaw said.
Lt. John Grimshaw said the suspect admitted he intended to severely beat the eight-year-old girl if he succeeded in dragging her away.
The teenager says he wouldn’t hesitate to use the gun again in a similar situation
An eight-year-old Michigan girl was saved from an attempted kidnapping by a 17-year-old thanks to her brother’s use of a slingshot to stop the kidnapper, who was going to beat her badly in the woods
Authorities said the victim and her parents were both emotionally shaken, but the girl was unharmed.
Grimshaw offered advice for people who may be victims of kidnapping attempts in the future.
“Fight, fight, do whatever you can to bite the hand that’s in your hand that has a hand over your mouth. If it does, stomp on their feet, give them a kick in the shin, do whatever you can to fight back.
And then, if your mouth is free, shout as loud as you can,” the commander added.
