12-Year-Old Kid Shot While Trying To Rob 17-Year-Old At Gunpoint

A botched robbery that took place in Los Angeles, California, involved a 12-year-old boy, who tried to rob a teenager at gunpoint in a parking lot. The boy suffered a gunshot wound during the incident and spent three weeks in the hospital before being arrested.

The unidentified child suspect attempted to rob a 17-year-old boy who was sitting in the driver’s seat of his car outside a local business in Cutler. During the encounter on Nov. 26, the pre-teen pulled out a gun and pointed it at the teenager. However, it was not clear what the child suspect demanded from the 17-year-old, according to the New York Post.

The teenager began reversing out of the parking spot when the younger boy started shooting at the vehicle. That’s when the 17-year-old grabbed his own gun and fired a single shot through the windshield of his car.

“As the victim began backing up, the 12-year-old began shooting into the victim’s car,” the Tulare County Sheriff's Office wrote on Facebook. “The victim then grabbed his own gun and fired one shot through his windshield, hitting the 12-year-old.”

The teenager’s single shot struck the 12-year-old boy before he managed to escape and hide.

First responders arrived at the spot to find the 12-year-old boy with a gunshot wound. The child was rushed to a hospital for treatment after his foiled robbery attempt, according to ABC30 Action News. He spent about three weeks recovering at the Valley Children’s Hospital in Cutler, north of Los Angeles. Right after he was released from the hospital last week, the kid was arrested and taken to the Tulare County Juvenile Detentions Facility.

“On Thursday, 12/16/21, Detectives learned the 12-year-old suspect was being released from Children’s Hospital after receiving treatment for his gunshot wound,” the police department said in their statement on social media. “He was arrested on a warrant and booked into the Tulare County Juvenile Detentions Facility, where he is being held without bail.”

The police department also urged anyone with information relating to the case to come forward and help with the investigation. Individuals can “contact Detective Nicholas Sandoval or Sergeant Bryan Clower with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit at (559) 733-6218,” the statement said. “Or they can remain anonymous by calling or texting (559) 725-4194 or through email at tcso@tipnow.com.”