A 13-year-old boy has been hailed a hero after he saved his younger sister from a kidnapper who appeared out of the woods by using his slingshot.
Owen Burns was playing video games at his home when he heard his eight-year-old sister screaming.
She'd been out looking for mushrooms in the garden, and at first Owen paid the scream no attention.
He thought she was just "messing around" with friends.
But when she screamed a second time and he saw her being grabbed by an attacker, he leapt into action.
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Owen said he saw a young man who had apparently emerged from the forest and was trying to kidnap his sister.
"So I looked out the window and saw her being abducted by a person, and I'm like freaking out," Owen recalled.
Police have praised Owen's "extraordinary" actions (AP)He said: "Her mouth was closed, and he was hugging her on his chest. My sister kicked him and then he started running after her."
Owen went on to say: "I grab my slingshot and open the window and I grab two things - a marble and a gravel rock or something."
His quick thinking gave his sister a chance to get away, with police saying his "extraordinary" actions may just have saved her life.
"I was just lucky," said Owen. "He's just a big target because he's not like one Pepsi can."
Owen grabbed a marble and a rock before taking aim at the suspect (Newsflash)He said he hit the suspect three times in the head and the chest.
After hitting the suspect, Owen said he called his mum, Margaret Burns, before calling 911.
"They were in a state of panic," Margaret recalled, "and screaming, and she was crying and the only word I could make out of the whole conversation was kidnap."
A member of Owen's family reported seeing a man that matched the suspect's description running away from the scene, in rural Alpena Township, Michigan, on May 10.
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Owen Burns, 13, his mother Margaret Burns (right) and father Andrew Burns (left) (Newsflash)Michigan State Police said the suspect, a 17-year-old teen boy, fled through the woods to a nearby petrol station where he was arrested with injuries to his head and chest.
He has been charged as an adult with one count each of attempted kidnapping/child enticement, attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of assault and battery.
Michigan State Police said the suspect got onto the family's property through nearby woods, grabbing the girl from behind and attempting to pull her into the trees.
Owen thought his sister was joking around at first but soon leapt into action (Newsflash)"You wouldn't think if you were playing in your own backyard or on your own property that you have to be concerned about something like this, but it just goes to show that there is evil out there," said a police spokesperson.
"For a 14-year-old to see that and pop into action that quickly is extraordinary and he should be commended for it.
"What he did also helped us identify who the suspect was because obviously [the suspect] had injuries from being hit with the slingshot and those were things that helped us evidentiary-wirse identify who it was."
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