A 9-year-old girl stayed calm during a home invasion robbery in Southern California, calling 911 and arriving on the scene in time to apprehend the perpetrator, authorities said Tuesday.
The terrifying incident happened shortly before 6 a.m. Friday, when an intruder broke into the family’s home in Westminster, about 35 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, police said.
The girl was upstairs and remained calm enough to call 911 for help.
“There is someone breaking into my house,” she told dispatcher Kristen Kannard. “Someone opened the window.”
The girl described the burglar shouting as he forced his way into the home on 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, which caused him to flee.
The 911 call brought authorities to the neighborhood in three minutes, allowing them to close off the area and apprehend Jorge Mendoza Diaz, 34.
He was arrested on charges of burglary and trespassing.
“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,” according to a police statement. “The calm nature of the nine-year-old victim can clearly be heard in the 911 call.”
Westminster Police Chief Darin Lenyi says 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 told the newspaper. “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.”