A 12-year-old boy and a 14-year-old pal armed with an AK-47 held a 35 minute shoot-out with police in Florida.
Travis O’Brien, now 13, has been sentenced to a juvenile facility after firing at police in June last year along with his teen accomplice Nicole Jackson.
The pair had broken out of a local children’s home and had entered a house in Volusia County when the gun fight started.
Defence lawyer Jeff Deen told WESH-TV: “He’s a little tiny, little boy and he got into a big mess.
“He wasn’t in control of his situation and he can’t understand some of the things that we understand.”
The youngster pleaded no contest to charges of burglary, criminal mischief and attempted murder of law enforcement officers, and was remanded to a maximum-risk assessment programme followed by a conditional release.
The “Bonnie and Clyde” duo had escaped from Florida United Methodist Children’s Home and were hiding in an empty home in nearby Enterprise on June 1.
Police arrived after reports of a break-in at the property and began to be fired at by the two children.
The gun battle continued for 35 minutes with an officer heard saying on a viral video at one point that Jackson was “re-racking”.
The officer said: “Female has a shotgun in her hand, stand by.”
He is then heard shouting “put the gun down now” and then shooting can be heard.
“They’re shooting on me,” the officer then said. “Hold the air. I’m code 4. She’s re-racking a round inside the shotgun.”
The dispatcher replies: “Let’s not engage them anymore.
“Let’s not challenge them.”
But the officer said: “She’s racked a round in the shotgun. The window’s busted on the patio side. If she comes out she’s going to have the shotgun.”
Then moments later Jackson came out of the house with gun and was shot - with her screams heard in video footage.
“I think the female’s down,” an officer said. “Call in the units. Female’s on the ground behind the car.”
The footage then shows the boy surrendering and being taken into custody.
Jackson was taken to hospital with life threatening injuries after being shot in the chest and arm but she recovered after surgery.
She is yet to be sentenced for her involvement in the incident.
Meanwhile, a couple, Shauna and Dan Willis, have reportedly offered to adopt Jackson after talking to her by phone from her jail.
“We just have good intentions in mind for her. So, we pray for her every day, and if we can give her a family, we’d be willing to do that,” Shauna Willis told WNDU.
