A heroic 13-year-old boy managed to save his sister’s life using his toy slingshot. While innocently playing in their backyard, his little sister was pursued by an attacker who attempted to kidnap her but was immediately thwarted by the brave boy.
A house in the Alpena Township of Michigan was the location of what was nearly a terrifyingly dangerous situation on May 10. On what was considered an ordinary day, young Owen Burns and his 8-year-old little sister, Arianna Burns, were the first to arrive home, after school, before their parents. Upon entering the house, Owen proceeded to go to his bedroom while his baby sister went outside in their backyard to play.
The family backyard’s landscape is one such that it extends out to the nearby woods. After innocently assuming that Arianna was out playing with friends, it was not until Owen heard a scream so intense it prompted him to look out his bedroom window. The image he saw was nothing short of alarming – his younger sister was in deep trouble.
The picture Owen saw was his sister in the midst of what looked to be a kidnapping attempt. A stranger had grabbed Arianna and covered her mouth, attempting to keep her silent while advancing toward the woods with her in toe.
Owen knew right away that he had to intervene and help her. In a reactionary panic, he grabbed his $3 slingshot and loaded it with the first “ad-hoc ammunition” he could find – in this case, it was a marble. He drew back the slingshot, aimed it at his target, and let the object fly.
Owen’s Brave & Heroic Antics That Saved His Little Sister’s Life
As he let go of the yellow, plastic tubing band of the slingshot with the marble loaded inside from his bedroom window, the distance between himself and the assailant was about 200 feet. The marble went flying and hit the attacker square in between the eyes.
Grabbing another makeshift ammo, the young boy drew his slingshot back again, this time with a rock loaded inside. He managed to hit the perpetrator in the chest for the second go around.
Owen had no plans to use his slingshot that day and had only used it occasionally. In fact, the children had just been engaging in some after-school fun activities when they had first arrived home.
The young adolescent boy had just started playing a “Call of Duty: Black Op II” game on his Playstation 3 before the incident occurred. At the same time, his younger sister opted to go mushroom hunting in the garden that extends into a woodland area. The kids had been home alone because they had arrived before their parents.
It was during her backyard activities that the attacker, who was reportedly a 17-year-old boy, had emerged from the woods and attempted to snatch the little girl. As Owen saw her screaming and struggling to escape, he feared for his sister’s life.
His fear centered around what would have happened had he not intervened. Owen believed his sister may not have survived if things had gone wrong.
The slingshot that became an iconic necessity in a time of need and crisis was bought by Owen’s mother for $3. He has only ever used the object from time to time to do target practice with old orange juice cans.
After the police had gotten involved in investigating the incident, it was reported to the news. An officer – Lieutenant John Grimshaw, involved in the case, had described how the unnerving scene played out to the public:
