In May of 2023, a Michigan teen used two well-aimed stones fired from his slingshot to save his young sister, just eight-years-old, from an alleged attempted kidnapping. That happened when the eight-year-old girl was allegedly approached by a 17-year-old who had the sick intention of severely assaulting her, as reported by 9and10news.
When the teen covered her mouth and attempted to drag her back into the woods, her 14-year-old big brother, who witnessed what was going on and decided to do something to stop it, sprung back into action. Grabbing his slingshot, he rushed outside and fired two stones that hit the suspect in the head and gave the girl a chance to escape.
“He was able to grab his slingshot and was able to slingshot something that hit hit the suspect right in the head. And that caused him to let go. The girl was able to struggle and get away and he shot another one hit the suspect in the chest and then fled the scene,” the Alpena Post Commander, Lt. John Grimshaw, said.
Commenting to local media on what happened, the boy said, “I’m like, sort of cursing a lot because I didn’t know what to do. So I grab my slingshot and open the window and I grab two things a marble and a gravel rock or something.” Then, commenting on how he managed to hit the attacker enough times to force him away, the boy added, “I was just lucky. He’s just a big target because he’s not like one Pepsi can.”
And not only did the boy’s quick thinking save his sister from a horrific assault, but state police credited him and his well-aimed stones with helping them identify the suspect. “But what he did also helped us to identify who the suspect was, because obviously he had injuries from getting hit with a slingshot,” Lt. Grimshaw added.
Describing what to do if you find yourself in a similar situation, Lt. Grimshaw then added, “Fight, fight, do everything you can bite the hand that’s hold in your that has one hand over your mouth. If that’s the case, stomp on their feet, kick them in the shin, do whatever you can to fight. And then if your mouth is free, scream as loud as you possibly can.”
9and10news added that the police were able to arrest the suspect and charge him with crimes based on his post-arrest confessions. According to the outlet, the state police force released a description of the suspect and, based on that description, were able to locate him at a nearby gas station. They found him there with wounds to the head and chest from a slingshot.
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According to the state police troopers, the individual told detectives that he planned on “severely beating” the victim of his attempted kidnapping. He, according to the police at the time, was to be charged as an adult for the case and was facing numerous counts, including attempted kidnapping/child enticement, attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of assault and battery.
Watch a report on the incident here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video