‘I Tried Throwing My Car At Him’: Video Shows 5-Year-Old Hurling Toys At Robbers While Protecting Mom During Home Invasion
“My whole thing was — my hero right here — he was steady trying to hit the guys,” Tamika Reid said of her son, David.
A fearless 5-year-old boy in Indiana was captured on video using his toy collection to beat back a group of gunmen who had stormed his family’s home.
In the stunning, now-viral clip, four men in hoodies can be seen swarming the child’s family home in South Bend around 10:30 a.m. on Sept. 30, Newsweek reported.
"About four males knocked on the door. A juvenile who was inside opened that door, and those males forced themselves inside the home,” South Bend Police public information officer Christine Karsten told local television station WNDU.
During the course of the suspected robbery, video footage shows a young boy chasing after the alleged crooks as he swings his arms frantically. The suspects appear to ignore the child.
“You can see a little boy hitting one of the armed suspects as he tried to defend his home,” South Bend Police said on the department's Facebook page.
At one point, the kid threw a toy at the group of men, some of whom were armed.
“I tried throwing my car at him,” the 5-year-old told WSBT-TV.
Police described the video of the attempted robbery as “extremely disturbing,” ABC News reported.
The child’s mother said she was ironing clothes at her home when the culprits entered her family’s kitchen, firing their guns.
“What you [were] seeing was me ironing our clothes, getting our clothes ready to start our day,” Tamika Reid told WSBT-TV. “You would hear me saying, ‘What is that!’”
The Indiana mother said her young son, David, then sprung into action and tried defending her and his sister.
“My whole thing was — my hero right here — he was steady trying to hit the guys,” Reid said. “My thing was, I need to get him out of the house before they do something to my son.”
The group of bandits fled without stealing anything, police said. The family was unharmed in the attack. No arrests have been made in the case.
“A lot of people are saying this little boy is so brave and he deserves a gold star, and that’s true. He was extremely brave in this situation,” Karsten, the South Bend police spokesperson, also told the station. “But no little boy, nobody in general should have to go through something like this, so it’s really important we get those who are responsible for this heinous crime off the streets.”
Neighbors also applauded the boy’s courage in the aftermath of the robbery.
“We were shocked. We heard the gunshots; it was scary,” Olivia Cruz, a neighbor, told WNDU. “I mean, our kids play outside, but that’s the first incident like that since I’ve been here. Oh my God, it broke my heart, he was trying so hard to protect his mom and get them out of there.”
Anyone with information related to the suspected home invasion is asked to contact the South Bend police at 574-235-9263.