14-Year-Old Shoots Armed Intruder To Save His Siblings in Phoenix [video]

A 14-year-old teen male shot an armed intruder in an attempt to protect his family in Phoenix. The teen boy nearly killed the armed man who invaded his home while he was babysitting his three siblings, ages 8,10 and 12 during the afternoon on Friday, The Blaze reports. Local law enforcement officers are still investigating the Arizona home invasion and do not yet know why the house was targeted, but did note during a press conference that the alleged armed intruder was taken to an area hospital in “extremely critical condition” to undergo surgery.

Officer James Holmes also stated the 37-year-old alleged armed intruder is expected to survive and will be booked on charges of aggravated assault and burglar once he is released from the hospital. The burglary suspect was not able to “get a shot off” before being shot by the the quick-thinking teenager who grabbed his father’s handgun while protecting his siblings up the stairs.

While babysitting the Phoenix teenager heard a knock at the door. Although the women he could see through the window did not look threatening, the young man exercised caution and chose not to allow a stranger into his home, according to Fox Channel 10 news live coverage of the incident. After refusing entry to the women Arizona teen heard loud bang on the door and ushered his siblings upstairs. He grabbed his father’s gun and as ran up the stairs to protect himself and his siblings. The Phoenix teen had reached the top of the stairs when he saw an armed man breaking through the front door and pointing a gun in his direction. The 14-year-old reacted to the deadly situation quickly, shooting the armed intruder before he could fire his own weapon.

“The police and indeed our community do not ever want to see a situation where a teenager has to take a weapon to protect his family. But, this young man did exactly what he should have done,” Holmes stated during media interviews. “The dad was pretty much out of his mind with distress, officers couldn’t even talk to him. It’s going to take them a while to recover mentally.”