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Chris Gaither: 11-Year-Old Alabama Boy Mocks The Home Intruder He Shot — ‘He Cried Like A Baby’

By Pam Wright
Published on: 08:02 PST, May 1, 2016

Chris Gaither, an 11-year-old Alabama boy who confronted a home intruder, said the man “cried like a baby” when he shot him.

Gaither told NBC affiliate WVTM-TV that he was home alone “petting the dogs” on Wednesday morning when he heard a noise upstairs and decided to investigate.

Although Chris said he was scared, he grabbed a knife and proceeded to go upstairs.

As he mounted the stairs, Chris said a man appeared on the stairwell, and when the man saw the 11-year-old, he bolted back up the stairs and quickly reappeared holding a gun.

“When he was coming down the stairs, that’s when he told me he was going to kill me, f-you and all that.”

Chris Gaither said he knew the intruder and described the man as “a meth-head” in his 30s who had robbed them before and is known for targeting other homes in the area.

Unlike most kids his age, Chris didn’t run away. Instead, he went and armed himself with a 9mm handgun that was in the family home.

Chris said he threatened the man right back, telling him he would kill him if he didn’t get out of the house.

“I guess when I pulled the gun out on him he didn’t think it was a real gun cause he didn’t worry about it. He just kept on walking.”

According to The Washington Post, Chris Gaither was trained to use a handgun by his stepfather and had been taking lessons, so he knew exactly what to do with the gun.

According to Chris, once the man left the house carrying a stolen laundry hamper, he fired a warning shot which got the home intruder running. Gaither said he emptied the gun’s magazine and fired 12 rounds as the man neared a fence at the front of the family’s property.

Chris Gaither’s final shot hit the man in the leg as he was jumping over the fence.

“I shot through the hamper he was carrying. It was a full metal jacket bullet. It went straight through the back of his leg. He started crying like a little baby.”

The unidentified man was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to The Huntsville Times, Alabama enacted “Stand Your Ground,” a law that permits the use the use of deadly force against an aggressor if that person is unlawfully and forcefully entering a home or car, or attempting to remove a person against their will.

Exceptions to the law include people who used to live at the residence in question and are under no injunctions or domestic protection orders.

The newspaper says a 2013 addition to the law allows for the use of deadly force against someone who is “using or about to use physical force against an owner, employee, or other person authorized to be on business property when the business is closed to the public while committing or attempting to commit a crime involving death, serious physical injury, robbery, kidnapping, rape, sodomy, or a crime of a sexual nature involving a child under the age of 12.”

The incident is under investigation by the Talladega Police.

Chris Gaither had one more piece of advice for the intruder.

“I hope you learned your lesson from coming to this house trying to steal stuff.”

And he shared some advice for other kids his age that might encounter a similar situation.

“Be brave, you’ll be okay. Trust God.”

What do you think of Chris Gaither’s reaction to a home intruder?

[Image via Shutterstock]

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