Around 2 p.m. Tuesday, a 13-year-old South Carolina boy was home alone when a car pulled up behind his house. The driver stayed in the car while an armed man exited the vehicle and began walking toward the home. The teen did not know the men but knew where his mother kept her gun, so he ran and grabbed it. As the armed man tried to break the back door, the teen opened fire, hitting the man, who dropped his gun and ran back to the car.
According to the Post and Courier, Lamar Brown, 31, was rushed to the hospital by the driver, identified by authorities as Ira Bennett, 28, and was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival. Bennett told authorities that his friend was shot during a highway shooting, but police say they believe that the teen, who was not identified, stopped a potential armed robbery of his home.
"I tell my kids that if anything ever happens to call 911, but I also tell them to protect themselves if they have to," the boy's mother, who was not identified, told the Post and Courier.
"I never would have dreamed that this would have been a part of our day today," she said.
According to WCSC-TV, authorities found a .45-caliber Colt pistol in the backyard after the shooting. They later arrested Bennett, who now faces charges of first-degree burglary and possession of a weapon in a violent crime.
During his bond hearing Wednesday, Bennett maintained that he had had nothing to do with the foiled burglary.
"I don't know what's going on," he said. "I just don't understand the charges."
Read more at the Post and Courier and WCSC-TV.