Authorities say they found injuries consistent with slingshot strikes to the head and the chest when they tracked down the alleged attempted kidnapper, Michigan State Police said.
A Michigan 13-year-old and his slingshot likely thwarted a stranger’s attempt to kidnap his younger sister, state police said in a statement obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Last week, the girl, 8, had been foraging mushrooms in the backyard of her Alpena County, Michigan, home when an older male she didn’t know appeared out of the woods, according to Michigan State Police.
The stranger held her mouth shut as she struggled, and she was eventually able to break free, authorities said.
Meanwhile, the girl’s 13-year-old brother, who witnessed the whole event, used his slingshot to shoot the stranger in the head and chest, according to police.
The stranger fled, but he was spotted fleeing the area by a family member and state troopers arrested the man while he was hiding at a nearby gas station, the statement said.
The suspect was later identified as a 17-year-old from the same county, and upon arrest, he had “obvious signs of an injury consistent with those that would have been sustained by slingshot strikes to the head and chest,” authorities claimed.
The teen, who has been charged as an adult, was arraigned on May 11 on counts of attempted kidnapping, attempted assault and assault and battery.
His bond is set at $150,000 and his is scheduled to appear in court again on May 17.
