Brave 13-Year-Old Hides at Family Dollar, Calls Cops on Armed Robber
If you spend much time with the news, it’s easy to think that the world is falling apart. But statistics tell us a different story.
Forbes reported that only 10 percent of the world is living in extreme poverty and that only 20 percent are illiterate. Political stability seems on the rise, too.
Yet no one would pretend that chaos doesn’t exist today. A 13-year-old boy from Tecumseh, Okla., knows that firsthand.
Braydon Self and his stepdad had one thing they needed to do. They had to do a little shopping at a neighborhood Family Dollar.
Yet when the arrived at the store, they found something completely unexpected waiting for them. A man with a gun was in the process of conducting a robbery.
“The first thing I saw was the guy aiming a pistol at [my stepdad],” Braydon told KFOR. Now I’m not exactly sure how I would respond if someone pointed a firearm at a loved one.
I imagine that I would freeze more than an igloo in the Arctic. But that’s not what Braydon did.
While the firearm was trained on his stepfather, the teen forced his body to act despite his fear. He sprinted away toward the back of the shop.
“I ran to the back, and I looked at the back door, and I was like, ‘I want to go in there,’” he said. “And I called the cops.”
As he waited, he heard noises. And after a short period of time, it became evident what they were: footsteps.
“I was like, ‘Oh man, that better not be him,’” Braydon said. “I felt like I was going to get killed.”
Fortunately, it was Braydon’s stepfather.
While Braydon ran to the rear of the store, the thief panicked and fled. He took with him whatever money he’d managed to get from the registers.
Police arrived shortly afterward, and they were able to identify the robber.
From there, they tracked him down and found him when they stopped by his home and promptly arrested him.
He had the cash on him. But that wasn’t all.
Tecumseh Police Chief JR Kidney said, “[Officers] found counterfeit money, drugs and drug paraphernalia, and a stolen vehicle.” The suspect will end up facing charges of robbery, forgery, and possession of stolen property, all thanks to the bravery of this teen.
For his part, Braydon seems more humble than proud, saying, “It’s hard to explain. I was very happy that he didn’t get killed or me.”
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