Three boys as young as 12 were shot by a man they tried to rob at gunpoint in Texas on Christmas night, according to police.
The gang of armed kids looked so young that the unidentified 25-year-old robbery victim and his girlfriend initially assumed it was a prank when the boys sprang up on them outside their Houston apartment complex, ABC 13 reported.
But when they tried to stick him up, the 25-year-old man whipped out his own gun and opened fire, wounding three of the boys.
One — just 12 — was hospitalized in critical condition, according to the report.
Two others, ages 12 and 13, came back to the scene to get help for non-fatal injuries, according to officials. A 14-year-old boy who was not injured was also taken into custody.
The 25-year-old man who shot them stayed at the scene and is cooperating with cops, officials said. He is not currently facing charges, ABC 13 said.
Neighbor Bruce Bailey said he called the cops when he heard the most seriously injured of the boys yelling in pain, saying he was “just a little kid.”
“I screamed out to him, ‘Are you OK?’ And he just put his hand in the air and screamed for help,” Bailey told KHOU.
“One of the police officers was trying to keep him coherent and everything, and he said, ‘What did you get for Christmas?’” Bailey told ABC 13 of the critically injured 12-year-old.
Detectives are working to determine whether they were using BB guns or real guns in the robbery attempt.
“Of all things, being Christmas, and this is a child, first thing that comes to my mind is, number one, where is the parent? Number two, if you got here with a gun, what are you doing out here with a gun?” Bailey asked.
