Brave Tempe teen saves mom during home invasion

PHOENIX — A daylight home invasion has left one young Tempe boy scared, but also extremely brave.

At approximately 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, a 13-year-old boy was home alone in his residence in the 2400 block of E. 7th Street in Tempe.

Both of his parents were at work when he heard people repeatedly knock on the door. When he didn’t recognize them, he went in his room and locked the door.

The men then broke through a skylight window and entered the home.

“When they got to the 13-year-old’s bedroom, it was locked, so they kicked the door open,” said Lt. Mike Pooley of the Tempe Police Department. “One of the suspects went in, found the boy and immediately told him he needed to cover his eyes. [They] asked him where the valuables were — the money, jewelry, everything — and they told him to stay in the room (and) keep his head covered.”

They were in the house for about an hour, and when the teen stopped hearing noises, he left his room to call the police.

The men remained, however, and ordered him to go back to his room and cover his head.

“The boy was extremely scared and said.’ Hey, my mom’s going to be home any minute; she comes home for lunch,'” Pooley said. “The suspects said, ‘Well, if she comes home here, we’re going to take care of her.”

Shortly thereafter, the boy heard his mom come home.

“He immediately jumps out of the room, runs to his mom (and) tells her that she needs to leave, because there are men in the house, and they both run out to the parking lot and call the police,” Pooley explained.

Both intruders left by the time police arrived on the scene. Both suspects are black males in their 20s. One male was approximately 5’10” with a muscular build and wore a red shirt with a white logo.