Boys aged 7 and 11 tried to carjack and rob woman at gunpoint outside church

Police said two boys, ages 11 and 7, tried to rob and carjack a woman at gunpoint in Southeast Portland, Oregon on Saturday afternoon. "I didn't think it was real," said Amy Garrett. "They were just two really young kids." The 11-year-old boy had a loaded handgun, police said. Earlier on Saturday, someone called police to report that an 11-year-old boy spotted another 11-year-old boy with a loaded handgun. When police arrived, they spotted two boys who tried to run away when officers talked to them.



Officers stopped them near the Freedom Foursquare Church. They told the 11-year-old boy to keep his hands out of his pockets, but he refused, Simpson said. An officer grabbed his arms and found a cocked and loaded handgun in his pocket. Police were later flagged down by Garrett, 22, who told them the two boys tried to rob her and steal her truck. Garrett said she was sitting in her truck and waiting for her parents outside the church when the boys approached her and threatened to shoot her if she didn't give them her truck. "He was showing me his gun and I asked him if it was real," said Garrett. "He said 'you don't ever ask somebody if it's real. That's how you get yourself shot.'" Garrett said the 7-year-old told the 11-year-old to “show her your piece.”

The 11-year-old then lifted his shirt and showed Garrett 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." When Garrett refused to give the boys her truck, they demanded her wallet and phone and said they would shoot her if she didn’t give them anything. "My heart was beating a million miles a minute. I'm surprised it didn't completely beat our of my chest. I was very scared," Garrett said. Garrett drove away and called 911. As she pulled away, Garrett said she saw the 11-year-old pull the gun from his pocket. The 11-year-old lives nearby with his family, Garrett said. He returned to the scene while Garrett was being interviewed by a TV station, but left and did not come back when he was asked about speaking with his parents.


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Garrett and other neighbours said the neighbourhood has seen plenty of crime in the past. "People don't want to come because of all the criminal activity," said Robert Schultz, who attends the church. "It's really disturbing to have these kind of things go on on holy ground." Simpson said due the boys’ ages, they cannot be taken to the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Home. They were both left with their parents. The boys would be taken to the juvenile detention centre and face Measure 11 crimes if they were 15, Simpson said. It’s unclear where the 11-year-old boy got the handgun. Robbery detectives are investigating the case. "Eventually, I want them to be able to come to the church and have some faith," said Garrett. "I want them to have a brighter future because they're not going anywhere bright right now. They're just going down a really bad path."

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