Getty A 12-year-old North Carolina boy fatally shot a home intruder after two armed suspects broke into his grandmother's home, investigators said.
A 12-year-old boy fatally shot a home intruder after two armed men broke into his grandmother’s North Carolina home, according to police.
WRAL reported that the boy, who has not been named, shot Khalil Herring, 19, on February 13 after Herring and another masked suspect entered 73-year-old Linda Ellis’ home in Goldsboro. The men intruded around 12:30 a.m., the station continued, and demanded money.
Police said Herring shot Ellis in the leg, prompting the 12-year-old boy to open fire on the suspect, according to The New York Post.
12-year-old boy shoots, kills home intruder to protect 73-year-old grandmother shot during robbery
“[The intruder] just shot his grandma. … He would have shot him too, he would’ve shot me too, he would’ve killed us all,” Randolph Bunn, the boy’s great uncle and son of Ellis, told ABC 11.
Police found Ellis with a gunshot wound in her apartment, WRAL said. The 73-year-old was taken to Wayne UNC Health Care to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the station added.
Herring later succumbed to his gunshot wound, WRAL reported.
No information surrounding the second suspect has yet been disclosed, but police told ABC 11 that an investigation is underway.
Here’s what you need to know:
Police Said They Found Herring Attempting to Flee After He Was Shot
Goldsboro police said in a statement obtained by WRAL that the suspects began to flee after the 12-year-old boy opened fire.
“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,” the officials wrote, according to the station.
Herring was later found at a nearby intersection suffering from a gunshot wound, WRAL reported.
“Preliminary evidence suggest Khalil Herring was one of the two masked intruders and was shot during the robbery,” the officials continued in the statement, WRAL added.
Police Are Not Planning on Charging the Boy in Connection to Herring’s Death, According to Local Media
According to numerous local media reports, Goldsboro police are not planning on filing charges against the 12-year-old boy in connection to Herring’s death. Police described the shooting as “self defense” in nature, ABC 11 reported.
Bunn told ABC 11 that he did not know why Herring shot at his mother.
“They came in the house, I open the door, I open it, and they came in there. … One guy had a gun. They just put me down on the ground,” he shared with the station. “[Ellis] was in the kitchen, I don’t know why they shot her.”
Linda Ellis’ great niece, Chiquita Coley Ellis, explained to WRAL that she was in disbelief by what happened to her great-grandmother.
She described the 73-year-old woman as a “good person,” WRAL reported.
“My phone was constantly ringing, and ringing and ringing,” Chiquita Coley Ellis said to the station. “I just couldn’t believe she been shot because she’s a good person.”
The great niece added that random acts of violence in the area need to be stopped, according to WRAL.
“Why would somebody come into her house and do this? It’s got to stop,” Chiquita Coley Ellis expressed to WRAL. “I don’t know what they’re thinking around here in Goldsboro, but it’s got to stop.”
She further added that the 12-year-old boy and the rest of their family is still “holding it together,” despite the unfortunate encounter, WRAL said.
READ NEXT: Christian Secor: UCLA Student Charged in Capitol Riot