Michigan boy fends off alleged kidnapper by shooting him with a slingshot

A 14-year-old Michigan boy defended his eight-year-old sister from a would-be kidnapper by firing off a slingshot, according to police. 

Authorities said a 17-year-old suspect came through the woods of a rural Alpena, Mich., property and grabbed the girl “like you’d see in a movie, his hand over the mouth, arm around the waist,” Alpena Post Lt. John Grimshaw said in footage shared by local outlet “UpNorthLive.”

The girl’s brother then fired two shots at the kidnapper, hitting the head and chest, and his sister was able to get free from the kidnapper’s grasp. The injuries caused by the slingshot also helped authorities identify who the suspect was, police said.

“I mean he really is the one that saved – that I believe saved his sister’s either life, or from something seriously bad happening to her,” Grimshaw said.

The suspect, whose name has not been released, has been arrested and charged as an adult with one count of attempted kidnapping/child enticement, one count of attempted assault to do great bodily harm less than murder, and one count of assault and battery.

“It just goes to show that there’s evil out there. And it can find anybody anywhere,” Grimshaw said.

The Associated Press contributed.