A Michigan boy fended off a would-be kidnapper by wounding him with a slingshot

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/15/ [login to see] /michigan-kidnapper-slingshot-alpena-township
A 13-year-old Michigan boy is being credited with saving his sister's life after he fended off a would-be kidnapper by shooting him with a slingshot.

According to a news release from the state police, an 8-year-old girl in Alpena Township in Northern Michigan was hunting for mushrooms in her yard earlier this month when a 17-year-old boy appeared from the woods nearby.

The boy covered the girl's mouth and attempted to kidnap her. The girl's 13-year-old brother witnessed the attack and ran over. That's when he shot the would-be kidnapper with a slingshot, hitting him in the head and chest and causing him to flee.

Michigan State Police First Lieutenant John Grimshaw called the boy's actions "extraordinary" and said he likely prevented his sister from being harmed further during the May 10 incident.

"He really is the one that I believe saved his sister's either life or from something seriously bad happening to her," Grimshaw said at a news conference.