A six-time felon met his match when he and an accomplice tried to break into a Ladson, N.C., home only to find a 13-year-old boy with a gun who not only managed to chase them off following a heated shootout, but wound up killing one of them in the process.
The incident occurred Nov. 10, when the boy, who remains unidentified, was home alone without any supervision when he grew suspicious after spotting a vehicle he wasn't familiar with pull up in his house's driveway, according to the Post and Courier.
A few moments later, he caught sight of two men trying to break into his house from the back. In fear of his safety, he picked up his mother's handgun and began to open fire upon the would-be home invaders. One of the invaders, 31-year-old Lamar Anthwan Brown returned fire, sparking a brief firefight between the ordinarily mismatched pair.
After each of them fired several rounds, Brown was shot three times, forcing him to retreat to his vehicle while his accomplice, 28-year-old Ira Bennett, went behind the driver's wheel, reported Truth Censored. However, their ordeal was far from over. The boy, unscathed from the previous firefight, emerged from the house and proceeded to open fire on the vehicle as it sped off, hitting it several times.
Once everything was in the clear, the boy called his mother, who in turn, told him to contact police. Upon their arrival, they searched the area and discovered a Colt .45 pistol, which was believed to belong to one of the suspects who fled.
As that was going on, Bennett dropped Brown off at a nearby hospital with multiple gunshot wounds. He allegedly lied about the incident at the time, saying that someone had shot at his vehicle while on the interstate. He was admitted, but later died at the medical facility, while Brown turned himself in to police, who later charged him with first-degree burglary and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
As it turns out, both Bennett and Brown have plenty of criminal experience, albeit with far less embarrassing outcomes. Bennett has been convicted of assault with intent to kill, pointing a firearm at a person, third-degree burglary, possession of a controlled substance, manufacturing and distributing a controlled substance and possession of marijuana. Brown has been convicted on six different felony drug charges, unlawful carrying of a weapon, disorderly conduct and trespassing, according to Guns.com.
The boy's mother revealed that she keeps the gun in the house for protection, but never taught him how to use it.
"I tell my kids that if anything ever happens to call 911, but I also tell them to protect themselves if they have to," said the mother. "I never would have dreamed that this would have been a part of our day today."
She added that she's happy her son is safe, but that the incident has made her want to move away.
"I'm always scared. There's so much going on all the time in Charleston," she said. "All I can do is continue to pray and hope it gets better."
