An intruder reportedly fled off after finding an 11-year-old Michigan girl hiding inside a closet, with a shotgun aimed at him.
The girl, who has not been identified, was home alone when she saw a vehicle pull into her driveway on Friday, MLive.com reported. Immediately grabbing a shotgun, she hid inside a bedroom closet until one of the burglars came across her.
"The 12-gauge shotgun is her weapon," Lapeer County Sheriff Detective Sgt. Jason Parks told the paper. "She and her father are into hunting and avid sportsmen. She was familiar with that weapon."
Around 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 30, a "vehicle entered the driveway" of a Lapeer County, Michigan, home while the 11-year-old was home alone, according to the Lapeer County Sheriff's Department. Two individuals allegedly exited the vehicle, "knocked on all the doors," and, after getting no response, "forced entry into the residence."
Realizing the potential danger she faced, the young girl grabbed her father's shotgun and hid inside a closet.
While making their way around the house, one of the burglars eventually entered the bedroom and opened the closet door, immediately spotting the girl with the shotgun trained directly at him, according to TheBlaze.
The home invader quickly took off, and the girl remained unharmed, Parks told WNEM-TV, adding that the girl was "familiar with weapons and the closet where the gun case was."
"She is fully capable of staying there by herself, as we can clearly see based on this situation. She was able to defend herself from an intruder and be able to resolve an event even most adults would be taken aback by," Parks said.
Shortly after the incident, James Wasson, 53, and Rhonda Steward, 31, were arrested after the suspect's vehicle was located in Imlay City, Fox News reported. Since the suspects are believed to be linked to dozens of other break-ins in the area, they were taken into custody without event and charged with first-degree home invasion, second-degree home invasion, and burglary tool possession, authorities said.
"Due to this little girl, her keeping her composure, she was able to observe and articulate what she saw. It definitely made a huge difference in this case and because of that ability, people are in custody," Parks added.
