Boys 11 and 7, try armed robbery

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PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 10 (UPI) -- Two boys, ages 11 and 7, tried to rob a woman at gunpoint outside a church in Portland, Ore., this weekend, city police said.

Police said they nabbed the pair Saturday as their alleged victim roared out of the church parking lot in her pickup truck, The (Portland) Oregonian reported. Police said they found the gun, loaded and cocked, on the 11-year-old.

Too young to be booked into the juvenile detention facility, they were released to their parents, the newspaper said.

Amy Garrett, 22, of Milwaukie said she at first didn't think the boys were serious, just kids "being tough guys" spouting profanity.

"They were children," Garrett said Sunday. "I didn't think they'd actually have a real gun."

But then they displayed the .22-caliber pistol and a box of bullets.

At that point, Garrett said, "My heart was racing."

At the same time, a woman across the street was phoning police after her son told her he had seen the 11-year-old carrying a gun.

The young holdup artists demanded Garrett surrender the truck to them, but she pointed out the gas tank was near empty and they wouldn't get far. They then demanded money, but she told them she was broke. She refused to turn over her phone.

When the 11-year-old grabbed her arm, Garrett slammed the truck into reverse and drove way. Looking back, she said she saw the boy waving the gun in the air and the police pulling up.

"I literally thought I was going to die," Garrett said. "If the cops hadn't come right then, I'm sure he would've fired it."

"All it would have taken was a pull on the trigger," police Sgt. Pete Simpson said.

"I've never heard of a 7-year-old being involved in an armed robbery. These weren't just two kids goofing around."