Police: Teen with toy guns shot by man during robbery

SPOTSYLVANIA Co., Va. (WWBT) - A Good Samaritan stepped in to help the victim of a theft in Spotsylvania County, ending with a 17-year-old suspect shot.

According to police, a woman who lives on Forbidden Forest Circle saw a man inside her vehicle around 10 p.m. Tuesday.

“When she walked up to him to ask him why he was in her vehicle he then proceeded to put on a mask and started walking away from her with items he had stolen,” Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Elizabeth Scott said.

When the woman yelled for help, a neighbor and his wife got into their vehicle to attempt to stop the thief and called 911.

“They had pulled their vehicle in front of the suspect. When the male exited the vehicle to tell the suspect to stop, the (suspect) turned and pointed two guns at the male,” Scott said.

Police say the man also had a gun and shot the suspect before he fled onto a nearby street.

Police say the two guns the suspects had weren’t real.

“They ended up being toy guns painted black,” Scott said.

The suspect ended up stopping at a nearby residence for help; he had been shot in the leg.

“He’s an idiot,” Tamar Mitchell said.

Tamar Mitchell and her husband live across the street, close to where the wounded suspect ran for help.

“We thought we heard a gunshot go off so my husband ran towards the door and asked if I heard that,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell says it’s not the first time violence has hit close to home.

“It’s terrifying. It’s not the first time we had a shooting in the area. In the last two months, there was a shooting about two blocks from here,” Mitchell said.

The man who shot him stayed on scene and cooperated with police. He will not face charges.

“In this area, people are going to protect their families and their homes. You just don’t do something like that. It was a kid so I feel bad but he was old enough to understand that’s just not something you should do,” Mitchell said.

Police say the 17-year-old is charged with brandishing a firearm, wearing a mask in public and petit larceny. He is currently being held at Rappahannock Juvenile Detention Center.

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