12-Year-Old Boy Defends 73-Year-Old, Shoots, Kills Home Invader

Image from Google Maps, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten

Between midnight and 1 a.m. on 13 February, 2021, two young home invaders came to the door of 402 S. Williams St. in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The address is to a modest apartment complex, home of Linda Ellis, a 73-year-old grandmother.

 

Image of Linda Ellis, family photo from WRAL.com Screenshot, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten 

Ellis son, Randolf Bunn, answered the door. As he opened it the two suspects forced their way in. The forced Bunn to the ground. At least one of them had a gun. They barged into the kitchen, where they encountered 73-Year-Old Linda. They shot her in the leg. FRom abc11.com:

"They came in the house, I open the door, I open it, and they came in there... One guy had a gun. They just put me down on the ground..." The [73-year-old woman] was in the kitchen, I don't know why they shot her," said the son of the woman, Randolph Bunn. He also happens to be the great-uncle of the child who fired the gun.

Goldsboro police said charges against the 12-year-old are not anticipated but the investigation is ongoing.

"[The intruder] just shot his grandma... He would have shot him too, he would've shot me too, he would've killed us all," Bunn continued.

As this was happening, a 12-year-old boy, said to be Linda's grandson, accessed a firearm and opened fire on the home invaders. They fled the house. The police arrived minutes later. They found Ellis, wounded. 

A bit down the street, they found Khalil Herring, on the ground with a gunshot would. Linda is recovering at the hospital. Khalil died from his wounds. From witn.com

Police said a 12-year-old who lived in the apartment with Ellis is believed to have shot at the masked suspects with a gun in self-defense, according to the investigation. They say two masked suspects forced their way into the apartment and demanded money from Ellis and shot her.

 

Khalil Herring was 19 years old. The identity of his accomplice has not been released by the police.  The identity may be unknown, or the accomplice may be less than 18 years of age.

Linda Ellis' great-niece, Chiquita Coley, is fed up with violent crime.

Chiquita Coley, identified by CNN affiliate WRAL as Ellis' great-niece, said she couldn't believe what happened.

"Why would somebody come into her house and do this? It's got to stop," Coley said. "I don't know what they're thinking around here in Goldsboro, but it's got to stop."

Young men do not start their criminal career with armed home invasions.  In September, 2019, a Khalil Jered Herring was arrested for Possession of a Stolen Motor Vehicle. His address was listed as 713 West Oak Street, Goldsboro, NC.  713 West Oak Street is about a mile from 402 S. Williams Street in Goldsboro. The two Khalil Herrings may be the same person. 

Pre-teens often are capable of defending their homes and family with a firearm.  11-year-old Elliot Clark killed a charging grizzly with his shotgun, saving family members, in July of 2017. 12-year-old Alyssa Caldwell used a rifle to kill a mountain lion which was stalking her in 2014. 

From home invaders to charging grizzly bears, firearms are the great equalizer. They give pre-teens the power to stop adult criminals or other deadly predators

©2021 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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