Child Carjackers: Boys Age 7 and 11 Attempt Carjacking in Oregon
Two boys, ages 7 and 11, brandished weapons in an attempted carjacking.
Dec. 10, 2012— -- Two boys, aged 7 and 11, were picked up by police in Portland, Ore., this weekend after they allegedly attempted to carjack and rob a woman with a handgun.
Police said that the two boys had a cocked and loaded .22 handgun that they brandished while telling Amy Garrett, 22, to give up her money and truck.
Garrett told ABC News affiliate KATU she was waiting for her parents at the Freedom Foursquare Church in Portland when she was approached by the boys.
They told her to give them her truck or be shot. It's not clear if they were big enough to be able to drive the truck.
"He was showing me his gun and I asked him if it was real," she said. "He said, 'You don't ever ask somebody if it's real. That's how you get yourself shot.'"
"I didn't think it was real," Garrett said. "They were just two really young kids."
Garrett said that the 7-year-old boy told his friend to "show her your piece," at which point the 11-year-old raised his shirt to show off the gun.
"He said it was fully-loaded and cocked and ready to go. He told me he was going to blow my brains out if I didn't give him anything," Garrett told KATU.
She refused to give the children her truck, and they then demanded her wallet and phone. She drove away and called 911, she said.
"My heart was beating a million miles a minute. I'm surprised it didn't completely beat out of my chest. I was very scared," Garrett said.
Portland police also received a call from another 11-year-old boy saying that he had seen a child with a gun. When officers arrived on the scene, the boys tried to flee but were caught.
The 11-year-old reached for his back pocket, but was grabbed by cops who found a cocked and loaded gun in his pocket, according to a statement released by Portland police.
Officers were then flagged down by Garrett, who relayed her encounter with the boys.
The children were not handcuffed or arrested because of their age, but were taken home to their parents' custody, according to a statement from the Portland police department. Police will report the incident to juvenile court, they said. Detectives are still investigating where the 11-year-old obtained the weapon.