A 12-year-old boy shot dead a man while defending his grandmother after two intruders broke into her North Carolina home.
The two masked robbers entered the Goldsboro home of 73-year-old Linda Ellis around 1am Saturday, demanding money and shooting Ellis in the leg, WRAL reported.
Ellis’s 12-year-old grandson fired back at the two men in self-defense, forcing them to flee, according to police.
One suspect, 19-year-old Khalil Herring, was later found at an intersection a half block from the apartment suffering from a gunshot wound.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries.
“Preliminary evidence suggests Khalil Herring was one of the two masked intruders and was shot during the robbery,” police said in a statement.
“A 12-year-old juvenile occupant of the residence shot at the suspects with a firearm in self-defense, causing them to flee the area.”
Ellis was also taken to hospital to receive treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. Her family said she was in good condition and expected her to be released Monday.
“They came in the house, I open the door, I open it, and they came in there,” Randolph Bunn, the boy’s grand-uncle, told ABC 11.
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‘”One guy had a gun. They just put me down on the ground … [Ellis] was in the kitchen, I don’t know why they shot her.
“[The intruder] just shot his grandma … He would have shot him too, he would’ve shot me too, he would’ve killed us all,” Bunn said of the family’s ordeal.
Ellis’s great niece Chiquita Coley described her disbelief when she received a call about the attempted robbery.
“My phone was constantly ringing, and ringing and ringing,” Coley told WRAL. “I just couldn’t believe she’d been shot because she’s a good person.”
“Why would somebody come into her house and do this? It’s got to stop,” she added, noting that her aunt was a much-loved figure in the community.
No information was released on the second suspect, although an investigation is ongoing.
Charges are not expected to be brought against the 12-year-old boy, police said.