A 12-year-old girl is being credited with stopping a burglary suspect from coming into her Missouri City, Texas home.
The girl told police that she was home alone at about 10:30 a.m. when a man broke the glass on her front door and reached in.
Officers said the girl kept calm and hit a panic button inside her home.
The loud alarm caused the burglar to run off.
Police said they caught Lawrence Leonard, 20, a block away riding a pink child’s bicycle after neighbors spotted him.
Detectives said that Leonard still had on the latex gloves he used to protect his hands as he broke glass to enter the home.
Neighbor Frances Griffin praised the girl for reacting fast.
“She could’ve been sick out of school, and her mother’s probably working, and they knew she was gone,” Griffin said.
Griffin said she hopes she is safe after getting an alarm system.
Her house was broken into three times in the past year.
One burglar came through her daughter’s window when no one was home.
“It’s very stressful. They came in. They got a a modem. They got diamond rings. They got a class ring,” Griffin said.
The owner of a Missouri City security company also praised the girl for doing the right thing.
“That let’s me know the family worked together. Everyone should go through a drill so they feel competent,” said Ken Shorter, with KSHO Alarm Service.