Boy, 5, caught on video tackling gunman during home invasion

October 13, 2020October 13, 2020 WKXA

South Bend Police Department/FacebookBy JON HAWORTH, ABC News

(SOUTH BEND, Ind.) — A 5-year-old boy has been caught on video tackling an armed gunman during a home invasion as four men burst into his family’s home, according to the South Bend Police Department.

Police recently released the video from the home invasion, which took place on Sept. 30, in an appeal to the public to track down the suspects involved in the case.

Four men, and at least three of them armed with firearms, forced themselves inside of the family’s home at approximately 10:30 a.m. in the Westside neighborhood of South Bend, Indiana, after a child answered the door, according to the South Bend Police Department.

In the video, two men with hoodies on can be seen immediately charging into the living room where a woman looks to be ironing clothes on the floor with two small children standing by the sofa.

One of the gunmen holds his weapon up just a few feet away from the woman’s face as she falls back into a chair before the 5-year-old boy before begins hitting him from behind. Another gunman then comes to help out before making his way to another room in the family home as the boy can then be seen throwing an object at one of the suspects before charging him from behind in the altercation.

“This video is extremely disturbing,” said the South Bend Police Department in a statement accompanying the video. “You can see a little boy hitting one of the armed suspects as he tries to defend his home. It is our job now to defend him.”

The suspects fired shots and fled the scene, police said, but no one was injured.

Authorities are still investigating and asking for anybody with information on this case to contact the South Bend Police Department.