Man saves granddaughter from intruder with gun
YOUNGSTOWN — A South Side man saved his granddaughter from potential harm by confronting an armed intruder in the family home.
According to police, a 12-year-old Breaden Street girl was visiting her grandfather’s home on the same street just before midnight Monday.
The child went outside the house to walk the dog and was accosted and forced back inside the home by an armed man with an afro hairstyle wearing all-black clothing.
The armed man forced the child into the living room of the home and ordered her to sit down, but the girl screamed for her 60-year-old grandfather.
The grandfather told police he entered the living room after he heard the girl’s screams, and the armed man pointed the handgun in his direction, demanding that he leave the room or be shot.
The grandfather told police he refused to leave the room and did not move out of the gunman’s line of fire.
He instead told the man to let his granddaughter go and take whatever he wanted from the house.
Reports say the armed intruder began screaming at the older man to get out of the room.
The grandfather moved toward the gunman and slapped the hand holding the gun, causing the intruder to fire a bullet into a nearby wall.
Police said the grandfather tried to rush the gunman while the gun was no longer pointed in his direction, but the intruder ran out of the house.
The grandfather told police the man was joined by two other men outside as he ran away. The two other men are believed to have been lookouts for the intruder.
Police are still looking for all three men. The two men who stayed outside also were dressed in black, but one also was wearing a black-and-white bandanna, and the other had on an orange shirt.
jgoodwin@vindy.com