Boys, 7 And 11, Attempt Robbery With Gun

Portland, OR – Two boys, ages 7 and 11, attempted a robbery with a gun, according to a police statement. The incident happened on Sunday.

The two boys attempted to carjack a 22-year-old woman in a church parking lot in Portland while she waited in her family’s truck for her parents, reports Yahoo! News.

Portland police state that the woman, Ami Garrett, was approached by the boys in the afternoon. When they reached her, the younger boy told the older one to “show her your piece.”

Garrett refused to give the two boys the truck, so they demanded she give up any cash she had as well as her phone. She drove away from the scene and, upon looking back, saw the 11-year-old boy pull a real handgun from his pocket.

The two boys failed in the attempted robbery and were apprehended in the parking lot by police officers, who were called to the scene over reports of children carrying guns. Fox News notes that police stated:

“Officers told the 11-year-old to keep his hands out of his pockets but he ignored the officers and tried putting his hand back in his pocket. Officers grabbed his arms and recovered a cocked and loaded .22 caliber handgun in his pocket.”

Detectives are working to investigate how the 7- and 11-year-old boys were able to obtain a gun in order to carry out the attempted robbery. Because of how young they are, police were not able to take them into custody at a juvenile detention center. Instead, they were released back to their families.

The 11-year-old at first attempted to escape from his parents’ house once he was returned by police, but he was quickly re-captured by officers and returned. Portland police are planning on taking the case to juvenile court.

Do you think that the young boys who attempted a robbery with a gun should be punished? If so, what kind of punishment would be effective for children this young?

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