An 11-year-old boy put his baseball skills to use when he used a machete to ward off a suspected burglar, who is now on the run with a deep wound in his head.
WFMY reported that Braydon Smith was alone at his family's Mebane, North Carolina, home Friday morning when a stranger knocked on the door.
"I was hiding behind my door," he told WFMY. "I didn't answer the door."
The man came into the home and found Braydon.
“When he came in the room, he pointed the gun at me and he told me to sit down on the ground and get in my closet and I did that,” he said.
According to Orange County Sheriff Charles S. Blackwood, the man, later identified as Jataveon Dashawn Hall, 19, removed electronics from Braydon's home.
WFMY reported that Hall went back to Braydon's room to question him.
"He found my phone on the counter and he took the phone but he dropped it, and that's when I picked up my machete and hit him in the back of the head,” Braydon said.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office officials said Hall kicked Braydon in the stomach and Braydon swung the machete again but missed.
Hall dropped everything and ran. Police said Hall went to UNC-Hillsborough Hospital with a deep cut on the back of his head.
Investigators were able to issue warrants for Hall’s arrest and planned to take Hall into custody once Hall was released. Warrants were issued for breaking and entering, second-degree kidnapping, interfering with emergency communications, and assault on a child younger than 12.
Despite Braydon’s actions, his biggest concern that day was playing baseball, his father, Christopher Smith, said.
“He was, like, ‘Am I still going to be able to play baseball and get back into the house to get my uniform?’” Smith said. “I said, ‘Heck yeah. We’re going.’”
Smith said he’s thankful for his son’s safety.
"I thank God. He had a big part in it," he told the local news station Friday. "The Lord was looking out for him."
Police say Hall left the hospital against medical advice Friday night and was on the run.
By Sunday evening, police in nearby Burlington, North Carolina, got an anonymous tip that Hall was at his mother's apartment. Officers responded and Hall was taken into custody by Orange County officials. He is now at Orange County Detention Center on $100,000 bond, according to a Facebook post by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Hall did not have any medical complains, according to the post. He is due in court on Monday.
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