Two foster children broke into a Florida home this Tuesday and then used guns they found inside the residence to shoot at officers who arrived on the scene, Click Orlando reports.
The children, who were 12- and 14-years-old, face felony charges of attempted first-degree murder of law enforcement officers and armed burglary, after they used the weapons, one of which was an AK-47, to fire on police for around 30 minutes.
“So the deputies in the Deltona area go out looking for this 12-year-old and this 14-year-old because the 12-year-old is insulin-dependent and the 12-year-old, if he doesn’t get his medication within four hours, it’s going to be a critical medical emergency,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
When a resident told deputies that sounds of broken glass were heard in a nearby home, the deputies investigated and found signs of a forced entry.
“And the amazing thing is they don’t do what I would have done. I would have walked in because I have an eyewitness telling me two juveniles just forced their way into the home,” Chitwood said. “They take a step back and contact the homeowner and say, ‘Should anybody have access to your home?’ as resources are pouring in to surround the property.”
The children, who consisted of a boy and a girl, also used baseball bats to destroy furniture, toilets and a tub, police say.
“At 8:28, one of my sergeants who was the first to arrive, Sgt. Donnie Maxwell, takes fire multiple times, never returns fire. At 8:31, one of our units reports they’re being fired at by the 12- and the 14-year-old. At 8:33, another call comes out from another group of deputies surrounding the home saying that shots were fired. At 8:40, the 14-year-old emerges from the property and threatens to kill Sgt. Maxwell. At 8:54, the juvenile male, armed with an AK-47, opens fire on deputies,” Chitwood said.
The boy dropped the AK-47 and surrendered after the girl was shot. Chitwood said deputies took “multiple, multiple rounds – until they were left with no other choice but to return fire.”
The girl is in stable condition after being taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital, according to the Miami Herald.
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