A 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl run away from a group home, break into a house, steal guns and then get into a shootout with police.
Volusia County (Florida) Sheriff Mike Chitwood says the two kids opened fire on police at a home.
Sheriff Chitwood says "this went on for hours. This wasn't a split second, we exchange gunfire. We were out here from 7:30 until 9 o'clock until we returned fire."
No deputies were injured in the incident, though body-worn camera footage released by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday afternoon shows the children shooting at responding officers.
Sheriff Chitwood said about the incident:
"the sanctity of human life is cheap on the streets. Here’s the indication, a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old have it so bad in life that they are going to defy law enforcement and engage them in a gun battle. The more we deescalate it, the more we’re trying to get the armored vehicles out here, and pepper spray and tear gas, the more brazen they got."
Here’s body cam video of the shootout:
“Body-worn camera footage released by the Sheriff’s Office, along with details revealed by the agency over the past day, shows how the incident escalated within an hour of the reported break-in.
Around 7:30 p.m. witnesses reported glass breaking at a home on Enterprise Osteen Road, VCSO said. Law enforcement had already been searching the area for the children, according to VCSO.
Deputies contacted the homeowner, who reported he had left for Publix about 15 minutes earlier with his children and no one should be in his home, Chitwood said Wednesday. He also told officials there was “a handgun, a shotgun and an AK-47 inside,” along with nearly 200 rounds of ammunition. Chitwood said the guns appeared to have not been secured inside the home and loaded prior to the children’s entry.
Deputies surrounded the home and began talking to the children, who “ransacked” the home, shattering windows and causing tens of thousands of dollars of damage, Chitwood said. They observed the girl using a baseball bat to destroy furniture, a bathtub and a toilet.
Then, about 8:30 p.m., the girl fired at a sheriff’s sergeant out a back patio door, Chitwood said.
Body-worn camera footage showed a deputy taking cover behind a tree outside the home. He radioed to other deputies the girl appeared to have a long gun and the boy looked “like he has something in his hand” before several shots rang out as the children started shooting out the home’s rear window.
The deputy ordered the children to put their guns down, but one fired another shot.
“Let’s not shoot these kids, man, let’s just hold off, take our time,” another deputy can be heard saying over the radio. “... Let’s not try to escalate this any further.”
The first deputy, still taking cover behind the tree, reported the girl was re-racking the shotgun and the boy was holding a firearm. He said over the radio he would challenge the children if they exited the house.
“Don’t let me do this. Don’t do this,” he whispered as he pointed his pistol toward the house.
Meanwhile, deputies tried talking the children out of the home, according to VCSO.
The deputy whose camera recorded the incident told others not to approach the house because the girl had the gun pointed at the door. Though the footage is too dark to see what happened, a gunshot is audible as the deputy reported the boy fired a round at him. Around 9 p.m., he said he saw the girl had an AK and a shotgun “wrapping around” her neck.
Soon after, the children left the house. The girl came out of the garage and pointed a gun at authorities twice, the sheriff’s office said.
Video released by VCSO cut to helicopter footage showing deputies taking cover behind a tree and shooting toward the house. The boy went back inside, and deputies reported the girl was down behind a garbage can but still was moving.
Deputies approached the girl to treat her injuries. Several requested a med kit and a deputy took his belt off to use it as a tourniquet. The footage ended as deputies appear to pick up the girl to take her to the hospital."
The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office say the 12-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl now face felony charges of attempted first-degree murder of law enforcement officers and armed burglary.
From Sheriff Chitwood: