Owen Burns was returning home from school on a typical afternoon when he overheard his sister screaming. He was irritated by the disruption her screams caused and could not perceive anything nefarious in her cries for assistance.
However, when he turned to gaze out his window, he was startled, but he immediately overcame it to make a decision that would save his life.
On his PlayStation 3, Owen Burns was getting ready to play his favorite game, “Call of Duty: Black Ops II,” when he heard his sister screaming in the backyard. The 13-year-old grew irritated because she thought she was being silly.
Later, when the teenager was in his bedroom, he noticed a stranger attempting to drag his sister, who was eight years old, to the woods bordering their house.
The terrified teen seized his slingshot and gathered any nearby objects he could use as ammo, including marble and rock. He shot the kidnapper right between the eyes with a direct shot.
He struck him in the chest the second time. He was cursing. “He was swearing,” Owen said to the media.
The meeting occurred in broad daylight at the Burns’ house in Michigan’s Alpena Township. According to their mother, Maggie Burns, kidnappings are uncommon in the neighborhood.
His 8-year-old sister was unharmed at the end of the encounter, though she was certainly scared. The Michigan State Police did not release the identity of the 17-year-old kidnapper, but they did confirm that he will face adult charges.
At a news conference, Lt. John Grimshaw praised Owen for his “extraordinary” actions, saying he “really is the one that… I believe he saved his sister’s life or from something seriously bad happening to her.” The acts of this young youngster were nothing short of heroic!
The young man should be commended for his efforts, he continued.
The adolescent used a standard slingshot, nothing unusual about it. It cost his mum $3 because it was on sale. The adolescent occasionally went outside to his yard and practiced shooting at old orange juice cans, which he claimed helped him improve his aim.
The boy claimed that when he initially observed a kidnapper trying to kidnap his sister, he had only one thought in mind: if the stranger was successful in his attempt, he would probably either kill his sister or use her as a sex slave.
The kidnapper “came from behind her, grabbed her like you see in the movies — hand over the mouth, arm around the waist — and was trying to pull her into the woods,” according to Grimshaw’s account of the incident.
At that point, Owen pulled out his slingshot and started shooting at him. When the kidnapper let go of his sister, she raced into the house sobbing and told her brother that she had almost been killed. Owen was furious and stormed outside, cursing the kidnapper. He threw a baseball his way, but it missed. The rubber on his slingshot then cracked, rendering his third effort ineffective. He then tried to strike him with it again.
The siblings then called their mother, who had stopped to help out at a relative’s house while she was traveling from work. She raced home to contact the police after overhearing her agitated and unintelligible kids on the phone. She could make out the term “kidnapper.”
“I was in shock for a few days,” Maggie admitted.
The kidnapper, 17, was discovered hiding at a nearby gas station. He was later indicted in Alpena County District Court on charges of attempted kidnapping, attempted criminal assault, misdemeanor assault and battery.
According to a news release from the police, “he had obvious signs of an injury consistent with those that would have been sustained from the slingshot strikes to his head and chest.”
Maggie expressed skepticism about his son’s claim that he hit the kidnapper precisely in the face and chest from 200 feet away. However, the police corroborated the information, stating that the suspect’s marble-induced goose egg on his forehead grew as they spoke with him.
You claimed I always tell lies. Declared Owen to his mother.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” she said in response. “Until there was confirmation, it just didn’t sound real. It sounds like something from a motion picture.
The adolescent responded, “Mom, things in movies can and do happen in real life.” This young man is a hero!
This sweet story demonstrates the selfless actions of a big brother defending his young sister. To motivate your friends and family, share this tale with them.
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