- Leigha Kissinger took action to protect her younger sister from a man with a shotgun trying to enter their home
- The elderly man was said to be suffering from dementia and was taken to hospital by officials
A 14-year-old girl protected her younger sister from a shotgun-wielding man who forced himself into their home in a moment of sheer courage.
Leigha Kissinger was with her sister and their dog at her home in Ocala, a city in central Florida, when she saw a stranger with a shotgun trying to enter through a door.
Once she realized what was happening, she immediately went to her sister, grabbed her from the dining table chair and took her to safety.
Their family dog, Loki, continued to bark as both sisters locked the room they were hiding in. Immediately after they were safe, Kissinger called their mother.
Leigha Kissinger was with her sister and their dog at her Ocala home when she saw an unknown man with a shotgun enter through a door
Once she realized what was happening, she immediately went to her sister and picked her up from the dining table chair she was sitting on to go to a room.
Their family dog, Loki, continued to bark as both sisters locked the room they were hiding in. Immediately after they were safe, Kissinger called their mother
Images show the man opening a door and entering the home.
Shortly afterwards, two officers from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene and ordered the man to drop his gun. He was then taken to a hospital.
Kissinger told Click on Orlando: ‘In my mind I thought: “It’s me, my dog (and) my sister”. I thought, ‘I have to take care of my sister first, because she will come before me.’ If it’s just me and her, I’ll be her protector.
She told me later Fox35: ‘I just grabbed (my sister) and took her to my room, just to keep us both safe, and I locked my door.
“It was very scary because I don’t know what’s in that gun. I don’t know what he’s going to do. I don’t know if he’s going to come in here and talk to me or just shoot me. There’s no telling what he would have done.
‘I never thought anyone would ever come to my house.
“I practiced it in school, but I never really thought it was that big of a deal until it actually happens and you have to gather your thoughts and do something.”
Images show the man opening a door and entering the home
Kissinger said, “I just grabbed (my sister) and took her to my room, just to keep us both safe, and I locked my door
Kissinger called Loki the real hero in the story, saying that his very deep bark easily scares people away
Kissinger called Loki the real hero in the story, saying that his very deep bark can easily scare people.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the man first entered another neighbor’s home.
Officials said the woman in that home tried to get him to leave, but he beat her and stole her shotgun.
The man, who also lives on the same street, is an older man who probably suffers from dementia.
Kissinger said she only said “hello” to him and never had any further contact.
The family is not pressing charges because they want him to “get the help he needs.”