An 11-Year-Old North Carolina Boy Fought Off Home Invader With A Machete And Won
A quick-thinking North Carolina boy with a machete fought off a thief who allegedly broke into his home, emerging the victor in the encounter, Yahoo News reports. Meanwhile, the boy’s parents are demanding answers after the alleged thief walked away from the hospital when he should have been under arrest.
Braydon Smith, 11, was at home alone in his Mebane home last Friday when three men burst through the door. His mom, who was in another state and on the phone with him at the time, said that she could hear the men while she was on the phone with her son. She says she heard one of the men say that the house was empty.
One of the alleged intruders, later identified as Jataveon Dashawn Hall, noticed Braydon and, according to Durham’s WTVD, started bossing the young lad around. Braydon says the suspect grabbed his (Braydon’s) pellet gun and pointed it at him, although Braydon says he knew the gun wasn’t loaded. The suspect then allegedly ordered the boy into the closet and tried to grab Braydon’s cell phone so he couldn’t call 911.
That’s when Braydon sprung into action. In his closet, he’d kept a machete that he purchased some time ago with his birthday money. He says he normally uses it for more typical machete-related business, such as clearing brush and whatnot. But with an intruder in his home and with one chance to act, Braydon, who according to police reports is a “star baseball player” on area teams, grabbed the machete and conked the suspect in the back of the head.
"You're better off to get a job than breaking into other people's houses," said 11-year-old Braydon Smith. #abc13 https://t.co/Nyv80xjesV
— Steve Campion (@SteveCampionHTX) June 17, 2019
“It went by really fast. I knew I didn’t have the time to think about what I was going to do. I just grabbed a weapon in the house and acted with it.”
The suspect, now injured, fled and took himself to a nearby hospital. What happened next has angered his parents. While police in the area were looking for a suspected home invader with a head injury, a man with a head injury went to a hospital and then calmly walked out when he realized he was a wanted man.
This 11-year old used a machete to fight off a home intruder. Now the suspect, who went to the hospital after he was struck in the head, is at-large after he walked out of his room. If you know where 19-year old Jataveon Dashawn Hall is, call @OCNCSheriff @ABC11_WTVD pic.twitter.com/gV8y7lYYUl
— Michael Perchick (@MichaelPerchick) June 15, 2019
Following a 40-hour manhunt, police eventually caught up to their man after receiving an anonymous tip. Meanwhile, as of this writing, the other two suspects in this crime are still believed to be at large.
As for Braydon, he has some career advice for the criminal he fought off.
“You shouldn’t have done what you’ve done. You’re better off to get a job than breaking into other people’s houses.”
