A 12-year-old boy shot a man to protect his grandmother when two intruders broke into her North Carolina home, authorities said.
The incident occurred shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Saturday when two masked men entered 73-year-old Linda Ellis’s home in Goldsboro, WRAL news channel reported.
The couple demanded money and shot Ellis in the leg, prompting the 12-year-old to open fire, police said.
[The intruder] just shot his grandmother … He would have shot him too, he would have shot me too, he would have killed us all, ”the boy’s great-uncle, Randolph Bunn, told news channel WTVD.
The gunfire caused the intruders to flee, but a suspect, Khalil Herring, 19, was found at a nearby intersection with a gunshot wound, police said.
He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, officials said.
Meanwhile, Ellis was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, authorities said.
‘Why would anyone come into her house and do this? It has to stop, ”Ellis’s grand-niece, Chiquita Coley, told WRAL.
No information has been released about the second suspect, but authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
According to police, no charges are expected to be brought against the 12-year-old boy.