When faced with frightening situations, humans have three ingrained responses. Fight, flight, or freeze. Each person’s response to the threat, whether real or perceived, is instinctual. Our ancestors used these techniques to outsmart their predators and to avoid dangerous situations. So it makes sense that a young teenager had the sense and bravery to help save a college student from a violent rapist.
Fourteen-year-old James Persyn III lives in Shepherd, Michigan with his dad and two siblings, Aceline and Angus. His father left the home briefly to pick up his fiancée from work, which left James in charge of the house and children. And he didn’t take his task lightly.
Colleen Harrison/The Saginaw News
At 10 pm, things should have been quiet in the neighborhood. So when James heard frantic knocking at the door of his house, he went to answer the door. He heard a woman, clearly in need of help outside. “Her voice was, like, she was going to die if I didn’t open that door,” James said.
Colleen Harrison/The Saginaw News
When she asked if his parents were home, James responded that they weren’t, but he could see that the woman needed help. Her face was covered in bruises. She had clear packing tape wrapped around her. She claimed her arm was broken because she had to jump out of the man’s car. So before he could figure out if this woman’s story was true, the teenager let the woman inside.
Michigan Department of Corrections
“She’s like, ‘We gotta hide! There’s someone out there who just kidnapped me and he’s trying to kill me,” James said. So the teenager locked the doors and turned off all the lights as he moved everyone into the bathroom. But not before grabbing a hunting knife from his room and the telephone. James called 911 to alert them to the violent assailant, who could be heard banging around outside the house.
John Carlisle/Detroit Free Press
Then James called his father. Then, eerily, the perpetrator fell silent. But that’s because he had grabbed a canister of gasoline and was attempting to burn the house to the ground. Thankfully James’s father returned in enough time to put out the fire. The police arrived shortly after.
Fourteen-year-old James Persyn III lives in Shepherd, Michigan with his dad and two siblings, Aceline and Angus. His father left the home briefly to pick up his fiancée from work, which left James in charge of the house and children. And he didn’t take his task lightly.
Colleen Harrison/The Saginaw NewsAt 10 pm, things should have been quiet in the neighborhood. So when James heard frantic knocking at the door of his house, he went to answer the door. He heard a woman, clearly in need of help outside. “Her voice was, like, she was going to die if I didn’t open that door,” James said.
Colleen Harrison/The Saginaw NewsWhen she asked if his parents were home, James responded that they weren’t, but he could see that the woman needed help. Her face was covered in bruises. She had clear packing tape wrapped around her. She claimed her arm was broken because she had to jump out of the man’s car. So before he could figure out if this woman’s story was true, the teenager let the woman inside.
Michigan Department of Corrections“She’s like, ‘We gotta hide! There’s someone out there who just kidnapped me and he’s trying to kill me,” James said. So the teenager locked the doors and turned off all the lights as he moved everyone into the bathroom. But not before grabbing a hunting knife from his room and the telephone. James called 911 to alert them to the violent assailant, who could be heard banging around outside the house.
John Carlisle/Detroit Free PressThen James called his father. Then, eerily, the perpetrator fell silent. But that’s because he had grabbed a canister of gasoline and was attempting to burn the house to the ground. Thankfully James’s father returned in enough time to put out the fire. The police arrived shortly after.
This teenager showed a lot of maturity in attempting to save this college student and to protect his younger siblings.