OCALA, Fla. – A 14-year-old girl knew she had to protect her 4-year-old sister when a man carrying shotgun entered her Ocala home on Tuesday.
Leigha Kissinger said she quickly collected her thoughts when she spotted a man trying to enter their home with a shotgun through a window. She said in that moment, she knew she had to protect her baby sister.
“In my mind, I was like, ‘It’s me, my (pet) dog (and) my little sister,’” Kissinger said. “I was like, ‘I need to take care of my little sister first because she comes before I do.’ When it’s just me and her, I am going to be her protector.”
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the man had entered another neighbor’s house first. Deputies said the woman inside that home tried to get him to leave, but he hit her and stole her shotgun.
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Deputies said when they arrived at the Kissinger’s house, the man was holding the shotgun. The report said deputies spoke with a neighbor who told them the man had been diagnosed with dementia.
Kissinger said that after she got her sister to safety, her first phone call was to her mom.
“She didn’t see the gun at first, and she was kind of like, ‘Maybe he was lost,’ and then she realized what he was holding, and she was like, ‘OK, I gotta’ call the police. I’m gonna’ go,’” Kissinger said.
But Kissinger said she can’t take all the credit.
“I think the real hero here is my dog,” Kissinger said. “He’s my little crybaby hero. He’s scared of everything, but he can scare people away with his very deep bark, so I owe a lot to him. I make fun of him sometimes for being a little scaredy-cat sometimes, but he did do something, and I’m very proud of him.”
Kissinger said she’s still shaken up — but slowly recovering.
“I’m still just kind of aware of my surroundings more just because it just happened so (fast), and I’m still not, like, ready to be alone,” Kissinger said. “It was hard to talk about it because it’s like I’m reliving it. My adrenaline gets high, I start shaking again, my heart starts pounding, but now it’s better, and I feel like I’m OK.”
The man involved was taken to a hospital under the Baker Act. Kissinger said they did not press charges because they want him to get the help he needs.
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