A 9-year-old girl remained calm during a home invasion robbery in Southern California, phoning 911 and arriving at the scene in time to apprehend the culprit, authorities said Tuesday.
The horrifying episode occurred shortly before 6 a.m. Friday, when an intruder broke into the family’s house in Westminster, roughly 35 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, police said.
The girl was upstairs and remained calm long enough to phone 911 for assistance.
“There’s someone breaking into my house,” she informed dispatch supervisor Kristen Kannard. “Someone opened the window.”
The girl recounted the burglar shouting as he forced his way into the house at Magnolia Street and Bolsa Avenue.
“They broke into the window already,” she said. “I heard downstairs, ‘Open up!'” Open up! ‘Open the door!’ “And I heard him hit the door.”
According to authorities, the girl’s father confronted the intruder with pepper spray, prompting him to flee.
The 911 call got authorities to the neighbourhood in three minutes, giving them enough time to close off the area and apprehend Jorge Mendoza Diaz, 34.
He was arrested on accusations of burglary and trespass.
“The WPD applauds the brave actions of the nine-year-old victim, who called 911, remained calm, and provided vital information to dispatchers, significantly contributing to the suspect’s timely apprehension,” police said in a statement. “The calm nature of the nine-year-old victim can clearly be heard in the 911 call.”
According to Westminster Police Chief Darin Lenyi, the youngster can pursue a career in law enforcement if she so desires.
“I am very glad that the actions of both the nine-year-old and her father were such that kept the situation from possibly becoming much more serious,” Lenyi said. “Based on her performance, I invite the nine-year-old, when she grows up, to become a member of the WPD as either a police officer or dispatcher.”
