Owen Burns was walking back from school one day when he heard his sister screaming. He was annoyed by the noise but didn’t think she was in any real danger.
But as he looked out the window, he was surprised. Yet he quickly recovered and made a choice that would ultimately rescue him.
Owen Burns was about to play his favorite game, “Call of Duty: Black Ops II,” on his PlayStation 3 when he suddenly heard his sister screaming in the backyard. The 13-year-old felt annoyed because he believed she was being foolish.
Afterward, the young boy saw a stranger trying to take his eight-year-old sister to the woods near their home. Quickly, he grabbed his slingshot and found a marble and a rock to use as ammunition. He aimed carefully and hit the kidnapper right in the forehead.
Owen informed the press that he hit him in the chest for the second time because he was swearing and cussing.
The gathering happened during the day at the Burns’ residence in Alpena Township, Michigan. Maggie Burns, their mother, mentioned that kidnappings are rare in the area.
The 8-year-old sister remained unharmed after the incident, although she was definitely frightened. The Michigan State Police have not disclosed the identity of the 17-year-old kidnapper, but they have confirmed that he will be charged as an adult.
Lt. John Grimshaw praised Owen for saving his sister’s life or preventing something bad from happening to her. He called Owen’s actions heroic at a news conference.
The boy deserves praise for his hard work, he added. He used a regular slingshot, nothing out of the ordinary. His mom bought it for $3 on sale. He would sometimes go to his backyard and practice shooting at old orange juice cans, saying it helped him get better at aiming.
The boy stated that when he first saw a kidnapper trying to take his sister, he had one thought: if the stranger succeeded, he would either harm his sister or force her into slavery.
The abductor snuck up behind her, clasped her tightly as if in a movie scene, covering her mouth with one hand and wrapping an arm around her waist, trying to drag her into the forest.
Owen then took out his slingshot and began shooting at the kidnapper. As soon as the kidnapper released his sister, she hurriedly ran into the house, crying, and informed her brother that she had narrowly escaped death.
Owen got really angry and went outside, swearing at the kidnapper. He threw a baseball at him, but it didn’t hit. The rubber on his slingshot broke, so his third attempt didn’t work. He then tried to hit him with it once more.
The brother and sister phoned their mom, who had paused to assist a family member while on her way home from work. She hurried back to call the authorities upon hearing her distressed children on the line. She caught the word “kidnapper.”
“I was in shock for a few days,” Maggie said.
The 17-year-old kidnapper was found hiding at a gas station close by. He was then charged with attempted kidnapping, attempted criminal assault, and misdemeanor assault and battery in Alpena County District Court.
The police stated in a press release that he showed clear signs of injury that matched those caused by slingshot hits to his head and chest.
Maggie doubted her son’s statement that he hit the kidnapper in the face and chest from a distance of 200 feet. But the police confirmed this, mentioning that the suspect’s forehead bump caused by a marble kept getting bigger as they talked to him.
Owen told his mother, “You claim that I am always dishonest!”
She responded, “I couldn’t believe it at all. It didn’t seem real until there was evidence. It’s like something straight out of a movie.”
The teenager confidently told his mom that things shown in movies can actually occur in real life. This young man is undoubtedly a hero!
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