16-Year-Old Girl Defends Herself with .22 Pistol

Pierce County Sheriff’s Department Facebook Photo credit

09/07/2018 Spanaway, Washington. Pierce County Sheriff’s Department report being called at 5:51 a.m. to the 17200 block of 11th Ave. Ct. East when a woman called to report a domestic violence incident with her ex-boyfriend.

The woman told police that after an argument, her 34-year-old ex-boyfriend had pulled a knife to threaten her with before going outside and slashing her tires. The man then fled the scene.

Deputies called in K-9 Units to search for the man but were unable to locate the suspect.

At 7:19 a.m. police again responded to a break in at the house across the street from the previous incident.

When they arrived, police were told by the 16-year-old girl who lived at there, she and her mother had gone over to check on their neighbor after police had left.

While her mother stayed at the neighbor’s house the girl returned by herself to the home.

When the young woman walked into the home and tried to turn on the lights nothing happened. The power had been cut to the house. She immediately became wary and retrieved a .22 caliber pistol.

When she returned, she heard a noise in the backyard and then found the ex-boyfriend standing in the back door, brandishing a knife.

The teen told police the man informed her she was, “ … going to die.” and began to stab at her 6-7 times. At first, she tried to fight him off, kicking at him, but he continued, slashing her shirt and giving her a minor wound to her arm.

The 16-year-old then fired one round at the man which appears to have missed, but it was enough to scare away her attacker. The suspect then turned and ran out of the home.

Police, still on high alert, found a man matching the suspect’s description lurking in the area with a strange assortment of items on his person–apparently still intent on doing harm.

The man was carrying black gloves, an airsoft bb gun pistol, 35 rounds of 9mm hollow point, and of course, a knife.

The 34-year-old suspect was booked into the county jail for first degree assault, burglary, potential charges of domestic violence, unlawful imprisonment, and malicious mischief.

Clearly a .22 pistol is not ideal for stopping a threat, but it is far better than nothing when confronting a knife wielding attacker in your home.

Read more about the physiology of stopping a threat by clicking here. Leave us a comment below to let us know what you think about this incident.