Kendra St. Clair: Oklahoma Girl, 12, Shoots Intruder During Home Burglary
The 911 tapes tell the story as it unfolded.
Oct. 20, 2012 -- Kendra St. Clair, 12, was at home alone in Oklahoma, when loud banging began on the door to her family's home. Soon, the glass shattered and an intruder had entered.
"I was scared and I didn't know what to do next," Kendra told ABC News.
Petrified, she called her mom Debra.
"I said Kendra get the gun and go get in my closet now. And call 911."
The young 6th grader followed her mom's orders to the tee.
The 911 tapes tell the story as it unfolded.
Kendra: "I'm at my house. I'm in my closet. And I ran away from (inaudible) someone's trying to get into my house and I do not know who they are."Dispatcher: "Ok I have a deputy en route, I want you to stay on the phone with me. Ok?"Kendra: "Ok. Please. I think they are in the house."
Kendra had taken shelter in a closet, clutching her mother's .40 caliber glock gun while she listened to the intruder make his way around her home.
Kendra: "Please help me. Please."Dispatcher: "Alright, alright. I understand. Do you still have your mom's gun there?"Kendra: "Yes I do. I have it in my hand."
Her fear intensified to sheer terror, when she saw the knob of the closet door beginning to turn.
At that point, that for the first time in her life, Kendra fired a gun.
Police said the bullet traveled straight through the closet door and struck 32-year-old Stacey Jones in the shoulder, scaring him out of the house.
They arrested him a few blocks away and charged Jones with first degree burglary.
"When I had the gun, I didn't think I was actually going to have to shoot somebody," the 6th grader recalled. "I think it's going to change me a whole lot, knowing that I can hold my head up high and nothing can hurt me anymore."
Her mother Debra agrees.
"I think that she did something that most grown-ups wouldn't be able to do in a frightening situation. I think she handled herself amazingly."
Jones was treated at the hospital and released into the custody of authorities. Police said he has not yet entered a plea but that bond has been set for $250,000.