‘THEY’RE LUCKY I DIDN’T SHOOT THEM’ 14 AND 15-YEAR-OLDS

North Carolina man holds three burglary suspects aged 14, 15, and 17 at gunpoint after they 'ransacked his parents' home'

Daily Mail
February 4, 2019

A North Carolina man has stopped three teen burglary suspects, holding them at gunpoint outside his parents' home - and it was all captured on video.

Stephen Routh went straight to the house in Asheboro on Sunday when a neighbor called and told him they had seen strangers on the property.

Routh arrived just as the three suspects - aged 14, 15, and 17 - were trying to leave from the back door.

As they exited, the teenagers found themselves staring down the barrel of Routh's gun.

'I had the gun and they were coming out, and as soon as they saw the big gun pointed at them, their hands went up,' Routh told Fox 8.

Routh ordered the teens on the ground and they immediately dropped to the floor.

He was on phone with 911 the entire time and continued to hold the boys at gunpoint before police arrived at the scene.

The suspects took nothing from the home, but plenty of damage was done.

'It's a terrible mess,' Routh said. 'All the cabins are askew, cabinet doors have been opened, stuff thrown out, papers everywhere.'

'They know this is not their home. They know they had no business in here.'

'They mentioned they just thought they would just go in there and look around.'

Authorities called the parents of the 14 and 15-year-old. The 17-year-old was taken into custody.

'The police said it best - they're lucky I didn't shoot them, cause I had every right to put a bullet in somebody,' Routh said.

'There have been too many instances lately of home invasions like this where they get caught. And some people have been shot and killed.'

'People are not taking this mess anymore.'

The Asheboro Police Department is currently investigating.