Charlotte police announced Monday that a 12-year-old North Carolina boy who allegedly pointed a BB at a victim’s phone after stealing it has been charged with armed robbery.
Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department responded to a call about an armed robbery at an apartment complex near the 2100 block of Diamond Creek Circle at about 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Captain Jason Helton, of Steele Creek division, told reporters that a woman walking in a parking lot was approached by two siblings aged 6 and 12 who asked her to use her cellphone to call their mother. After they got her phone, the two siblings ran off.
According to a police report, a 12-year-old and his 6-year-old brother stole a woman’s cellphone and threatened her with this BB gun when she tried getting it back.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department
Helton claimed that the woman was chasing after the children, when the 12-year old allegedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at her. He then “tried pistol whipping her”, Helton added.
The children ran into a nearby apartment building.
The mother of the children was quickly located by detectives who responded to the scene.
In a news release, police stated that “She was cooperative in allowing officers to search her home for the handgun thought to have been used in the robbery.” The weapon was found and it was a BB Gun.
Helton showed the reporters a photo of BB gun that looks almost identical to a real pistol.
If you really, really look closely, does it look like a BBB gun? He said. “Let’s paint you a picture, what would have happened if this thing had been armed?” Here, we could have been facing something very tragic. We could have been dealing with an 11-year-old child who lost their life or even a six-year-old.”
The 12-year old boy confessed to police that he had stolen the victim’s cellphone and then pulled a gun against her. The 12-year-old boy is charged with armed theft and property damage.
According to the police, the 6-year-old child is too young to be charged. The police did not give any other information about the 6-year old, such as his gender.
Helton claims that officers are witnessing a rise in the number of minors committing crimes.
Our officers deal with juveniles, property crimes and violent crimes every day. When I say “juveniles”, I’m talking about kids, ages 11, 12, 13 and 14 and they seem to be getting younger.
Helton encouraged parents, especially those with young children, to keep track of where they are and what they do. This includes what they post on Facebook.
He said that after looking into the investigation, a child had posted a picture of a child with a firearm on social media a few days earlier.
Police are continuing their investigation and asking anyone who has information about the incident to come forward.
