When the intruder entered his Kentucky dwelling, the quick action and calm attitude of the 10-year-old girl led to a safe exit from the family’s home on Monday.
The girl was awarded a special honor by the Nelson County Sheriff’s Office for her brave maneuver and quick thinking to call her father.
Leken’s father, Lance BranfordIn a detailed Facebook post, he said he was working on Monday and ignored his daughter’s two video calls. He replied when she called her third time, and he could immediately say she was scared.
She told her father that a man with a six-year-old brother and grandmother had entered their home.
“He was walking normally, as if nothing had happened, as if he owned a house, as if he had all the rights to be there.” Leken told WLKY..
Leken asked his father if he was expecting someone, but said he was guessing second, not himself, Branford wrote in his post. ..
“It all changed when she started crying. I can say she was deadly scared,” Branford said. “She started telling me that the man was yelling and kicking at our dog. At that time, I thought something was wrong.”
Branford said he quickly quit his job and hurried home. He said she sneaked out of the hidden closet and asked Leken if she could point the camera at the man.
The man Branford didn’t notice was drinking one of the bushlight beers from the fridge. Dad told Leken that he needed to get his brother and grandma out of the house and find a hiding place behind their neighbor’s house.
Leken started moving around the house — then the phone hung up.
“Talk about feeling sick. I couldn’t get home early,” Branford said.
Branford tried to call Leken again, but said there was no service. When he got home, he didn’t find his family when he scanned the dwelling.
Branford picked up a shotgun and checked each room for both family and intruders. Then he saw a man drinking beer in his basement.
“Let me tell you, if you weren’t in this situation, you don’t know the adrenaline and scenarios that run through your mind,” Branford said. “But I still don’t know where my kids are, so I had only one option.”
When Branford told the man to leave the house, the intruder slammed beer and charged him. Branford didn’t shoot the man, but he said he hit him with a barrel instead.
The man was unconscious and stood on the ground, so Branford said he went to investigate his family after confirming that he was not armed. They were on the other side of the street by phone with the police, the father said.
Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa and a member of the Sheriff’s office later arrived home and detained the man.
Pineiroa to Leken Sheriff’s Office Challenge Coin And praised the girl’s actions.
“The most noticeable thing is what a very young girl did before we arrived,” the sheriff wrote in a Facebook post. “She was calm and calm and was collected in a very disturbing situation.”
Her father said Leken was emotional in some circumstances, but her attitude changed when the sheriff approached her with a coin.
“She wasn’t happy, but she wasn’t afraid anymore. She was proud,” Branford said.
A man identified by WLKY as Stanley Ritter was arrested for robbery.
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