It started out as a gorgeous sunny day in Norwalk, California, that quickly turned dark and frightening for one family. Three armed men crashed into their home, barging through an unlocked front door.
The assailants immediately threatened harm to the parents, but one smart little dude did something so brave that he’s been hailed a hero. Seven-year-old Carlos snatched his six-year-old sister and sprinted unseen to a bathroom.
While the armed men harassed the scared children’s parents, Carlos took action. Thanks to practicing emergency scenarios with his mom, he knew to call 911.
“There’s some guys! They’re going to kill my mom and dad, can you come please. … Can you come really fast? PLEASE, PLEASE.”
Los Angeles County sheriff’s dispatcher Monique Patino was the calm voice of reason on the other end of the line. She later admitted that while every emergency call is different, this particular one was “horrific.”
“I was really shook up.”
Carlos told Monique that the strangers had guns and were going to shoot his mom and dad. He begged her to “come really fast!”
“Bring cops … lots of them.”
Then he asked her to send soldiers, too. You can hear his little sister in the background crying.
But as Monique tries to keep Carlos calm and reassures him that help is on the way, something horrible happens. Carlos briefly mentions “There was a guy!”
Then you can hear the two kids screaming hysterically. At this point, Monique’s heart plummets.
“Once I heard the screams, I’m holding the phone and shaking, in tears. All I can hear is them screaming.”
The armed assailants realized that someone was hiding in the bathroom and broke down the door to find Carlos on the phone and his trembling sister hiding with him. The men demanded to know who he was speaking to.
When Carlos bravely replied, “911,” the men did something so shocking, you have to hear it for yourself in the video below.
